Not What It Seems
by SKYx10
Summary: AU SVTFOE: Marco meets Star Butterfly, current Queen of Mewni, who abruptly declares he is engaged to her. A war between monsters and the Mewni Kingdom, which has been going on for decades, doesn't help the situation. Will he be able to help the Queen with defending Mewni and those he cares about or will he fail? And why is he so unlucky? Rated M for violence and adult themes.
1. Introduction

**A/N** **: This is my first time writing a fanfiction and decided to give it a try after all the amazing ones I've read so far. With that in mind, constructive criticism would be deeply appreciated. I'll try to have a new chapter out every week at the very least, depending on how long they are, but may be out sooner than later since I'm in summer break from college. If any of you have questions or comments, don't hesitate to put them up. I hope you enjoy the story.**

Disclaimer: (This disclaimer actually belongs to jolleIQ, who I heavily recommend you all check out) I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky

 ** _Character Details:_**

 ** _Marco (age): 16_**

 ** _Kelly (age): ?_**

 ** _Higgs (age): ?_**

 ** _Star (age): ?_**

 _*Introduction_ *

Silence.

As I lay bleeding on the snow, all there is is silence. I try to move but the pain from my broken leg squashes any further ideas of that. I notice a couple of branches breaking near me, so I look up. A white wolf twice my size was approaching me, slowly, baring its teeth.

There it was, Death. It has come to put me out of my misery, which I welcome wholeheartedly. My vision was starting to fade, as well as my other senses. All I could make out was a white blob approaching me, getting bigger with every passing second.

It all went dark as a lay waiting for the end, but it doesn't arrive.

A hand grabs my arm and starts to dragging me across the snowy forest ground, managing to catch one word …

 _Idiot_.

~ _Ten-years Later~_

"Marco, wake up." I felt a hand nudging my shoulder, which was now hurting from the punch.

"WAKE UP!" I turn to the assailant and wonder how a shrub got into my room. Oh, wait.

I look outside my window, and notice that the sun was barely rising.

"Kelly, do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here and what are you doing in my room so early in the morning?"

Kelly scoffs, "You're joking right? Please tell me you're joking … for your safety," she said in a dark tone I knew all too well. I decide that it's far too early to mess with her so I submit and get out of bed, shuddering on how cold my room was. I look over to Kelly and notice that she isn't looking me in the eyes, but my abdomen. "You might want to close your mouth a little before you start drooling again," I teased. She punches my shoulder and I wince from the impact. I forgot how strong Kelly is, especially when she's angry

"So what time does the ceremony begin?" I asked. "Well, if you would have paid attention to my mom, you would have realized that the ceremony starts in a couple hours. Two hours to be exact, so hurry up Marco," she gave me a sad look, "You don't want to keep royalty waiting, especially not that bitc-" I rose my hand in annoyance.

"Kelly, please, you know how I feel about cursing." I go to my drawers to pick out my usual attire: a grey shirt, black shorts, and a red hoodie.

"But Marco, _she's_ taking you away from us. How do you think the others will feel when you're gone … especially me." I hear her begin to sob, so I reach out and pull her into a hug, trying to comfort her. "Hey, it'll be okay Kells. I promise that this circumstance won't keep us apart, because I wouldn't be a good best friend if it did. Plus, I'll be a few hours away on horseback so I'll visit you no matter what, okay?" She pulls away from me and wipes away her tears and smiles at me. "Okay, I'll be holding you to that promise. I guess we better head out huh?" We began to head out of my room until Kelly stopped me. "Do you plan on going to the ceremony in your trousers?"

After a few hours of talking and getting me 'prepared' we decided to get some breakfast. We reached two massive wooden doors and we each took our own door and pushed our way inside.

Chaos was an understatement as to what lay before us.

People were fighting each other, throwing food, arguing, and laughing all over the grand hall. This is my home and has been for the last ten years, for now anyway. Once Kelly and I began to walk over to the food station, which was mostly comprised of meat and bread, the hall became quiet. I guess being the blacksmith to all this people had its perks since the respect that came with it was worth it.

"Don't you get tired of them doing that every time they see you come in here?"

I smiled, "Of course not." We got our food and headed to our usual table, the one at the far back in all the mayhem. Once we reached it, the place went back to its usual behavior. I looked up and noticed that Kelly appeared uneasy. "Hey what's wrong?"

It was silent for a few minutes

"You know you're family right Marco?" I was not expecting that question.

"Of course I do Kells, but why the sudden question?" She looks at me and then back at her hands, which she was clenching as if for dear life.

"Marco … it's because I know you don't have any family outside of us that I worry. Ever since I found you in the woods with my parents, I can't help but think the worst when you're not near me." She looked up to meet my eyes with determination. She's so adorable, I say in my head.

"Marco I-"

"Hey losers, how's it going?" Kelly looks towards the disruptor with annoyance and … anger?

"Higgs," she says through gritted teeth, "now is not the time."

"Oh sorry Kelly, I didn't know you two were on a date." Before Kelly or I could respond, Higgs raises her hand to stop us.

"Save it you two. Kelly, your mom told me to come get Marco since he was supposed to be at the entrance of the Guild for the ceremony _ten minutes ago_. Not much of a ceremony if you ask me, but whatever. Marco let's go. You wouldn't want to keep her Highness waiting now would you?"

I sigh in defeat and walk towards to entrance with Kelly to me left and Higgs to my right. I guess I'm a prisoner now. Before we leave the hall, everyone in it stands up and gives me a traditional guild salute … one you give at a funeral for a fallen member.

I'm going to miss these idiots.

Once we arrived at the ceremony, murmurs began. I noticed that I was taking this whole situation rather well. Why? I spotted Kelly's mother and aunt to our right, next to a carriage, and she didn't look happy. I'm sure Kelly noticed that too since I felt her scoot closer to me when we stopped in front of them. A series of trumpets went off, deafening me for a few seconds as well as others around the vicinity I'm sure. The door from the carriage began to open and everyone went quiet.

A girl probably around my age, 16 years-old, stepped out of the carriage and the first thing I noticed were her cheek marks.

Hearts. One was pink, while the other was pitch black.

She had beautiful blond hair that reached all the way to the back of her knees, with a five pronged crown resting on her head. Her dress was equally as beautiful, the color blue, just like her eyes. The blue flats she wore were no exception.

I guess she likes blue.

She walked towards me with such grace and confidence that both Kelly and Higgs took a few steps back, as well as the audience, except me and Kelly's mom.

"So you must be Marco Ubaldo Diaz," she asked as soon as she stopped a foot away from me.

I cringed at hearing my middle name.

"Yes your highness, I'm Marco," I said as I bowed, to which she laughed.

"Oh am I going to like you," she gave me a once over and paused, " _a lot_."

"Ahem, your Highness, could we get on with the ceremony," asked Kelly's mom.

"But of course we can, Helen of Conquest," she turned to Helen, "I was just examining the merchandize."

"No one has called me that in years but, a reminder to you my queen, don't call a member of _my_ family _merchandize_ ," she stated with irritation.

The queen chuckled, "No need to get so upset Helen, I was only joking. I don't have time to start a fight with you or your guild. My attention is preoccupied by the monsters, and this handsome young man in front of me."

I looked back and noticed Kelly being held back by a struggling Higgs. I needed to diffuse this and fast.

"Umm your majesty, could you-," she raises her finger to my lips, silencing me, "Call me Star."

"Okay, Star, could you explain to me what this ceremony means because I forgot," I lied.

She looked at me with a hint of sadness, but vanished the second I noticed it. "My aren't you adorable, well if you insist." She stepped back and raised her hand, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "Listen up, all of you, Marco is to come with me to my castle were he will forge weapons for my armies that will aid in the fight against the monsters and their leader, Toffee. The reason as to why he has to come with me is due to the fact that transporting weapons involves soldiers, which I cannot afford to spare,so this is the most logical action. I admit this is more of a trade, than a ceremony since I am paying for his services, but now that I think about it," she looked over to Kelly and then at Helen, a smile grew on her face, "I've decided to add something else to our agreement, if Marco agrees that is."

I had a bad feeling about this, but something told me she was going to tell me regardless if I refused.

"What is it you wanted to add," I asked. A growing dread began to spread throughout my body.

"Well, silly, it's quite simple actually. I want to keep you at my castle for a few years as … my fiance." Everyone gasped in shock, except for me. I knew she was up to something, but I certainly wasn't expecting _that_. "Oh, silly me, I almost forgot."

There was _more_.

She walked up to me and put her hand on my heart, "You can't leave my kingdom during that time, safety reasons," she said with a smile and gave me a peck on the lips.

Oh no.

I heard movement coming from behind me and didn't have time to react to an angry Kelly pulling me away from the Star.

"THAT WAS NOT PART OF THE DEAL," Kelly yelled. "and how dare you think that I'm going to let you take _my_ Marco away!" Her mother soon joined her side and, surprisingly, drew her dragon bone greatsword, which I crafted.

"My daughter is right. In fact, the deal is off. I don't sell family, and won't be starting now," she pointed her sword at Star, "now _leave_."

Star closed her eyes, "that's too bad because I really need him," she reached under her dress and pulled out what looked like a wand, "and I'm not leaving without him."

I could tell this was one word away from outright war between the Kingdom of Mewni and us, the Lycan Guild, so I had to do something and hopefully it wouldn't backfire this time.

I put my hand on Kelly's shoulder, "Kelly let me go."

"But Mar-"

"Kelly trust me okay, I got this." She looked at me with sadness and let go. Sorry Kells, but this is for your safety as well as everyone else. I walked up to Star and looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.

"Star, since I'm sure you know how diplomacy works let's talk instead of resorting to unnecessary violence, which I'm sure you cannot afford to do. Plus, you're being rude." She looked at me with curiosity, and began to put her wand away. "Thank you Star. Now about your additions to the deal, those I cannot agree with so you _will_ listen to what I have to say unless you want bloodshed. First, I can't be away from Kelly for prolonged periods of time. It's bad for my health, and the entire guild's," Helen and Higgs chuckled at this, " as for the second thing, marriage should be taken seriously since it's a big commitment so, unless we get to know each other, we can't be engaged." Everyone stood still waiting for the queen's response.

She sighed, "Alright Marco, you make very good points. I'm willing to compromise," sounds of relief escaped the crowd since the crisis was no averted, "regarding the first thing, I'm still keeping the two-year time frame but am willing to allow you to visit your guild once a month. As for the second thing, I am serious Marco but if I must prove to you of this fact, then so be it. Are these changes suitable?"

"Yes, but one other thing," I pull her close to me, tilt her chin up, and give her a peck on the lips, "don't do anything underhanded okay?"

Star backs away from me with a smile and hint of a blush on her cheek marks. She walked towards the carriage and went inside, looking out towards me, waiting.

I looked behind me, "Sorry Kells, I'll explain myself soon okay? Hopefully you don't kill me then." I walked up to her and embraced her, kissing the top of her head. She pushed me away and ran towards the guild, tears on her face. I looked over to Higgs and Helen, "please take care of her while I'm gone," they nod, "good, thanks." I turned around and headed towards to carriage, but before I entered I looked back at the guild, my home, and smiled. I went inside and was met with Star holding a glass of what I assumed to be alcohol.

This was going to be a long trip.

 **A/N** **: Okay so that was the introduction, which wasn't spectacular or anything just introducing a few characters here and there. The upcoming chapters will get more interesting, I promise. Any support on my story is deeply appreciated, and will update in a few days or sooner. Maybe. Hope you enjoyed and until next time.**


	2. Truth

**A/N** **: I guess I'm going to update this sooner than I thought. I got some motivation after reading some fanfics today and several things will be revealed in this chapter that hopefully give the story and characters depth. Hope you enjoy this review, and to the person who gave my story a shot, thank you.**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right ot the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

 _ *****_ _Chapter 2_ _ *****_

The carriage ride was held in silence for a good while, which allowed me to close my eyes and relax. Just before I could succumb to my tired mind after the events that took place, Star decided that now was a good time to have a conversation. What a thoughtful person.

"So Marco, tell me about yourself. I want to confirm the information I've gathered on you," she said with signature smile. "Let's start with your childhood, since all I've been able to gather is little to nothing tangible." She crossed her legs and rested her chin on one hand, while holding a glass of what she called 'Corn Mead' on the other, "you have my undivided attention."

I had two options here: One, I could lie about myself and my background or, two, I could come clean. I decided to go with the safer option and tell her the truth, since there wasn't anything of any real importance to say about myself, except one.

"Well, Star, I am or at least was an orphan who was found near the brink of death near the Forest of Certain Death. It's funny now that I think of it, and was found by Kelly and a few of the guild members while they were on a quest by the Johansen Kingdom, roughly around ten years ago. As to my memories of before that incident, I cannot say since I don't remember anything. It all comes back to me as a blur or blank. In those ten years, I have been in the guilds care and was assigned to the position of blacksmith since I had a knack for it and, before I knew it, I was well known for my work among the guilds. I don't see why since I think my work is above average at best."

Star laughed at my bluntness and sat up, "Clearly you jest, because I've seen swords made by you cut through _rock_ without a scratch on the blade. It makes me wonder what you can do when you're serious," she looked towards my lower body, "among other things."

"Star, can I please finish my story?" She sighed and waved her hand, signaling for me to continue.

"Thank you. Besides the whole blacksmith stuff, I became a part of the guild as a permanent member which wasn't easy since I had to craft a sword made of _dragon bone_ for Kelly's mom, and that wasn't a fun time, but it passed. I've been in the guild ever since, doing my job and keeping out of trouble, until now."

Star began to laugh and accidentally dropped her glass on the carpet floor of the carriage, she didn't seem to notice or care. " Oh Marco, you're a riot, I assure you that you're not in any trouble, for _now_."

Great.

"So what about your friends? That shrub girl, Kelly I believe, certainly is very attracted to you. Mind filling me on the details?"

Why was she interested in Kelly? Should I lie about my relationship with Kelly? After all, I don't know Star very well. Hopefully the basics suffice.

"Kelly has been my friend ever since she found me in the forest. She can be a little possessive at times, but she isn't a bad person at all. She was the first to treat me as family since day one. I respect and value her very much."

Star raised her eyebrows at my statement and before I could react, a dagger was raised at my throat.

"Now Marco, don't lie to me. I _hate_ liars more than I do monsters so, for your sake, tell the truth."

Why must every woman that I meet be violent? Why?

In a quick and fluid motion, I took the dagger from her hand. Before she could react to my actions, I placed the hilt on her stomach, "I'm _not_ lying. Kelly and I are best friends, and nothing more. The only thing I failed to mention is that she is older than me by a year, she's 17." This seemed to satisfy her enough, and sat back down. I handed her the dagger back, which she placed under her dress. Interesting.

"So she's younger than me, good. I have an advantage then." Before I could ask on what she meant, she flicked my nose.

"That's for threatening your queen," she leaned in and pecked me on the lips, "and that's for telling the truth."

I didn't react to the kiss, which made her look displeased.

"Why don't you react to my advances? Am I not attractive enough for you?"

I scoffed, "That's not the issue Star," this seemed to brighten her mood, "but enough of that. Now it's your turn to introduce yourself since, not to be rude, I don't know much about you or Mewni."

She sat back down, "Well, alright. My name is Star Butterfly and I am the current queen of Mewni since … my parents were killed in the war a few years ago. As for my age, I'm eighteen years old. I'm painfully aware of how young I look despite my age, but don't let that bother you too much. My personality, well, I rather you discover that on your own," she gave me seductive grin, "My bust size is-"

"Whoa there, your highness, let's drop the jokes and get to the real matter at hand," I leaned into the seats. Wow these are really comfortable. "Why do you want _me_? I'm not very interesting besides being a blacksmith, so tell me the reasons why. The _real_ reasons."

Star's posture changed, and now wore a serious look on her face.

"You're very insightful Marco, I like that, but you're right. I do have ulterior motives as to the sudden changes to our deal. I'm sure you may be aware of this but, just in case you're not, I'll tell you," she sighed. "My kingdom is losing the war Marco and I can't afford to lose. Too many lives have been lost and the reason why I need you is because of your skill as a blacksmith, as well as your insight. Oh don't look at me like that Marco, I told you I did my research, and what I found was rather amusing. You're not only the guild's blacksmith, but also their strategist. Considering how famous your guild has gotten over the past few years, I'd say you're a pretty darn good one at that."

"Can't say that I'm surprised Star, but only Kelly's mom knew that information. Not even my friends know, which I would like to keep that way, so how did you find out?"

Star smirked, "A girl has her _ways_ ," she laughed, "I'm joking, Kelly's mom spilled out your secret when we were discussing our deal over a few drinks of my specialized mead. She can't hold her alcohol to well."

I should have known. Kelly's mom is a loose cannon when she is drunk, something Kelly inherited from her. Those memories were not pleasant.

"Okay, that makes sense, but what about the betrothed business? What's the reason behind that?" She immediately tensed at my question, which I found odd considering her personality so far.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that, but you're right, once again. The reason for that is to keep the nobles, well, people in general, off my back regarding marriage proposals. I once had someone that I considered for marriage but … we had a falling out. People have been more annoying on the matter because of my age due to Mewni customs and the few battles we have recently lost near the Mewni River. This has only edged them even further on pestering me. Also, everyone in my cabinet are idiots, and have provided little help on actually winning the war. Some have even suggested that I try to _negotiate_ with the enemy, but they fail to realize how that turned out for my parents. Toffee is no fool, and has made it very clear that he plans to win the war through bloodshed, rather than diplomacy. I plan to make that lizard and his armies pay for what they've done to my kingdom and me."

It all started to make sense now.

"So the whole 'sultry' act was a front to … make people believe that you're interested in the idea of courting, to say the least," she nodded, "and you sprung the question to _me_ since it killed two birds with one stone, correct?"

She laughed nervously, "sorry about that Marco, I promise to make it up to you. So, what do you say? Will you help me?" she gave me a pleading look. Well she definitely knew what buttons she had to push.

I sighed, "I'll help, but there's something you should know about me which you may not like." She gave me a curious look, "Star, I don't like violence."

Her shocked expression told me everything I needed to know.

"B-But ... you're clearly a warrior Marco! I just witnessed it a few seconds ago!" She was starting to become a little hysterical, which was out of character for her.

"Relax Star, I don't like violence BUT I will defend myself if need be, even against a member of the opposite gender. So I can help you strategize as much as my ability will allow but, when it comes to the actual fighting, I don't want to be involved."

She seemed to have relaxed a bit.

"Sorry you had to see that Marco," I waved her off, "and I'll take any help I can get." She looked outside of the carriage window, "we should be near the castle now, oh, there it is."

I followed her gaze and noticed the tallest structure I had ever seen peaking over the cornfields. The towers seemed endless, even managing to surpass the clouds. The castle glistened in a beautiful array of colors, no doubt from the precious stones that decorated the walls and towers, from the softest yellow to the clearest blue.

"Wow, it's breathtaking Star." But, suddenly, I got a bad feeling.

She giggled, "I'm glad you like it Marco because-"

In a split second, I kicked her to the other corner of the carriage, a knife whizzed past my head and into her right shoulder.

Darn. I wasn't fast enough.

Star's pained screams rattled the vehicle, and the commotion outside didn't help, but I had to focus. We had been ambushed.

I leapt up from my seat and checked on Star. I pulled the knife out, much to her discomfort, and dressed the wound as best as I could, given the circumstance. I tried to lift Star up but found a knife stuck to the side of my ribs.

Huh. When was that there?

I pulled it out and winced at the pain, but remained focused on the task at hand: getting Star to safety.

As soon as I stepped outside with the queen leaning on my right shoulder, I had to move Star's head from an incoming arrow at the last second, hitting the carriage behind us. I quickly surveyed the area and noticed how grave the situation was. There were about twenty or so monsters fighting ten mewman knights. We were strategically outnumbered.

"Star! Wake up," I smacked her cheek a few times until she reacted, she has lost to much blood, "I need you to order your men to form a tortoise formation around us in the middle. I got a plan." It took her a few seconds in order for my words to sink in but she did as I asked.

Once we were somewhat safe inside the formation, I laid star on the rocky ground and looked at her shoulder. The knife must have pierced a major vein since she was losing blood, and fast.

"Are any of you medics of any sorts?"

One knight, covered from head to toe in steel armor, stepped into the formation.

"What's your name?"

The knight bent down to our level and looked at star, "It's Jackie Lynn Thomas."

"Well, Ms. Thomas, I need you to look after the queen while I deal with our friends outside the formation. Can you do that?," she nodded. "Good."

I got up, and walked up to the knights, "let me through, I need to settle this quickly since your queen doesn't appear to have the luxury of time."

"How dare you give orders to a royal knight peas-" he paused when he looked at my face and went silent.

"S-Sir i-it's dangerous-" another knight stuttered. I didn't have time for this. I grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him aside as if he was made of paper, and walked towards the waiting monsters.

"Cover up the gap and don't let anyone in! Do you all understand?!"

"S-Sir, yes sir," the knights yelled.

I scanned the monsters and noticed they were unscathed from the tussle with the knights, meaning that they were either skilled warriors, or the knights weren't as amazing as I've heard around the guild.

"May I speak with the one in charge?" The monsters gave each other odd looks, but seemed to understand what I said since they parted and, from the middle, walked out a serious-looking woman with a x-shaped scar on her chest.

That's just great. Another violent woman.

"You are either pretty stupid or rather brave to walk out of that defensive formation _unarmed_ ," she grinned menacingly, "and into a horde of monsters no less."

I took a few steps forward, "is there any way we could avoid all the violence? If you turn back right now, you won't get hurt," I said

Laughter erupted from the monsters, except for their leader who squinted her eyes at me and, after a few seconds, opened her eyes in shock.

"You're from that Lycan Guild aren't you," she began to laugh, "this must be my lucky day because not only will I, Ether, one of the generals of the monster armies, get to kill the queen of Mewni but a member of the oh so famous Lycan Guild too, in the name of Toffee."

"I guess that's a no on my offer," I pushed my hair back in annoyance, "can't say I didn't warn you." I started to walk towards them and was soon met with monsters charging towards me.

"I really hate fighting," I ducked under a bear looking monster's swing, jabbed his chest and jumped over an ogre`s attempt to grab me, jabbing his neck midair. As soon as I landed back on the ground they collapsed, "since it is _very_ _tedious_."

"What did you do to my soldiers!" yelled Ether. The monsters stopped in their tracks and just watched me, cautiously.

"Pressure points. It works on anyone really," I continued my pace towards them with my hands in my red hoodie that now sported an even redder stain where the knife had hit me earlier.

I didn't have much time either, so I needed to step it up. I wouldn't want Kelly to find out that I died to monsters, don't want to be a reminder of what happened to her dad.

Ether noticed my injury and I saw her gain some of her confidence back. "Everyone charge him! NOW!" All the monsters, and Ether, rushed me with their axes, pikes, swords. Some even shot arrows at me.

Why can't I catch a break? Why?

I sighed and decided to get a bit serious. I was pressed for time after all. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths and reached what I liked to call my 'Zen' mode. A mode where I'm in a deep meditative state, and all my senses are immensely heightened. I now had all of their attention, just like I planned.

The first monster, a big chicken, tried to impale me with its beak but I easily side stepped him and moved into his center. I punched his stomach with so much force that he flew a few feet away, landing on a couple of monsters. The next monster that charged me looked like a combination of a dog and a bull, which tried the same tactic as the chicken. I jumped over him and landed on his shoulders. I used my legs to swing on his neck and managed to toss him onto the ground with the momentum, landing a punch on his face as I landed, rendering him unconscious.

I turned around to the knights, "Get the queen the safety! I can handle this so GO!" I yelled.

They stared at me wide-eyed but understood what I was trying to do. They backed away at a fast pace, never breaking formation, through the cornfields for cover. They were heading in the direction of the castle. Maybe they weren't idiots after all. Once I couldn't see them anymore, I turned back towards the mob of monsters.

Four down, sixteen to go.

"You idiots! Chase after the queen," yelled Ether, "I'll handle the boy."

The monsters tried to run towards the cornfields but I managed to get ahead of them. Startled by my speed, and probably what I did to their fellow comrades, some of the monsters retreated back to their commander, who did not look very pleased with them.

"Cowards," she said between gritted teeth, "must I do everything myself?!"

She began to approach me, and I readied myself since I could tell she wasn't as dumb as those she commanded, but my vision went blurry for a couple seconds. I had lost to much blood. I hoped Ether hadn't picked up on my predicament. When my vision refocused, I saw a smirk plastered on her face.

She noticed.

"Well would you look at that, seems the queen's bodyguard is out of juice, _literally_." She laughed. "Don't worry boy, I promise to make your death swift so you don't feel a thing. All you have to do is surrender. Deal?" The monsters caught on to what she meant and gained back the confidence I had robbed them of mere moments ago. Life _can_ turn on it's head in a matter of seconds. Lucky me.

My vision was only getting blurrier with every breath I took, which was starting to sound labored. I had no other option. I had to flee the only way that I knew how, at the moment, and I didn't like it. However, once I compared the pros and cons of what I was about to do, I decided that the possibility of surviving this was the goal. My birthday was tomorrow after all.

"Hey lady, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure, you're going to die anyway so I'll humor you."

Perfect, she fell for the bait.

"How many seconds does it take for a person to disappear?"

They all looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Wow you lost your marbles that fast in the face of death huh," she chuckled, "I'm going to say three seconds."

I smiled, "Ooh, close, but not quite. The answer is … zero."

And with that I was gone. I kind of wanted to stick around and see their reactions, but I decided to not risk it. Next thing I knew, I landed on the ground near the edge of the corn fields, which happen to be close to what appeared to be a village. I hoped it was in the vicinity of the castle since I began to fade in and out of consciousness so I couldn't make out my surroundings.

This scenario reminded me of what happened all those years ago, the day Kelly saved my life. I really should thank her again for doing that. As my final thought was of Kelly, I began to pass out for one last time.

"Well you look like shit," said a stranger, "guess I gotta help ya'."

 **A/N** **: Hopefully this chapter was a little more interesting. I like to leave things on cliffhangers for some reason, weird. As I said before, any support such as comments are deeply appreciated since I need to know if I'm doing something wrong. For example, the story is confusing or something doesn't make sense. Regardless of that, hope you enjoyed and until time.**


	3. Reunion

**A/N** **:** **I'm on a roll with the updates! I am going to try different POVs in this chapter, so hopefully I don't mess that up. Hope you all enjoy this** _ **chapter**_ **, since last time I said** _ **review**_ ***face palms*, and would really appreciate feedback on it. To those that have read, favorited, followed, and commented, I can't express my gratitude and happiness enough. It definitely motivates me to try harder and put these out faster. But, enough about that, let's get on with the story.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

 _ ***Chapter 3***_

 _Kelly's POV_

I felt cold and alone as I laid on Marco's bed.

His absence was hitting me harder than I thought it would, especially after that bombshell our _precious Queen_ decided to drop. What hurt me the most was how _easily_ Marco had agreed to her demands but, since I knew Marco, I figured he was just looking out for us. A war with Mewni, even in their crippled state, would lead to our deaths.

Nevertheless, he still hurt me. _ME_. His best friend … and that's all I'll ever be.

I flipped on my back and stared at the ceiling. How long had I been in here? I turned my head towards the window and saw nothing but darkness, guess it was night.

A sudden feeling of rage came over me so I got up and punched a hole through the wall, but then I broke down. Again.

I heard a knock on Marco's door. "Hey, Kelly, are you alright?"

Great, company was the last thing I wanted, unless it was …

"Go away Higgs … I'm fine." The door began to open and Higgs walked in.

"You sure? Because you look like crap," she sat on Marco's bed, "and that's me putting it lightly."

"Gee, thanks for reminding me Higgs, I feel _SO_ much better now."

She walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Kelly you can't be cooped up in here crying, Marco wouldn't-"

I smacked her hand away and looked her in the eyes, "What would _you_ know about what Marco wants? _I_ don't even know what he wants!" Higgs's frowned and smacked me across the face.

"You need to relax Kelly, because you're acting as if Marco betrayed you. He SAVED US by going with the Queen so, if anyone should feel betrayed, it's Marco! You're not trusting his judgement which we both know is _always_ right. So what's the real problem here Kelly? Huh?"

She was right.

Marco always looked out for us, even at his expense. All those days and nights he worked in the forge non-stop to make sure we had the best gear possible or when he dropped everything in order to help someone that asked him or that time-

I felt sick.

How could I possibly think so negatively about Marco after all he has done for us?

Higgs began to tap her foot on the ground, "Well? I'm waiting."

I sighed, "Higgs, you're right, but there really isn't-"

"That's bullshit Kelly, and you know it. Tell me the _real_ reason you have been crying up her for the entirety of the day. NOW!"

I cringed. I hated when she got like this.

"There's no such thing as _real_ _reason_ Higgs! I'm just … hurt." I felt my eyes water, and my throat tightened, "I-I just hate it! I hate how she took him away from me! Why did she have to take him away Higgs? Why? _Please tell me why…_ ," I put my hands on my face and sobbed into them. The pain was too unbearable.

I felt Higgs wrap her arms around me and started to pet my hair soon after.

"I don't know why she wants to marry that dork Kelly, but what I do know is that you're hiding something from me so spill it."

"I love him," I whispered.

"What? Speak up Kel-"

"I LOVE HIM, OKAY! You satisfied now?!"

Higgs entire body began to shake, so I looked up to see what was going on and saw the look on her face. She had a smile, as well as tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong Higgs? You okay?" I asked worriedly. Higgs _never_ cried.

She stepped away from me, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at me.

"Kelly, you're an idiot," she chuckled, "it's about damn time you blurted out your feelings for him. I was starting to think that I could finally make a move on Marco myself."

I punched her on the shoulder.

"OWWW KELLY! It was a _joke_. Marco is like a little brother to me but, in all seriousness, you should tell him how you feel because I have a feeling that our _Queen_ doesn't play nice. Marco is only human after all, so even he has limits."

I sighed, "I can't tell him Higgs, at least not yet, and even if I did want to tell him I would have to do it face to face since I'm not very good with words. Especially when they deal with feelings."

"Well," she began to head out of Marco's room but stopped under the doorframe, "you better decide on what you want to do and fast. Marco may be the smartest person we know but, when it comes to dealing with girls, he isn't so hot. He's denser than a rock in that department."

And with that, she was gone.

Dammit Higgs. If anyone knew me better than Marco, it's her and my mom.

I decided to listen to Higgs's advice, so I cleaned myself up because, honestly, I did look like crap and put on some shorts with a plain shirt on to sleep. Once that was all over and done with, I laid on Marco's bed and thought about whether I should tell him soon or not at all. I didn't want to risk our friendship on my selfish needs, but … something felt wrong. My sides began to ache and I instantly knew it had something to do with Marco. I don't know how or why I felt that it involved him, I just _knew_.

Marco was in danger.

I ran out of his room and didn't stop. I ran through the guild building until I found the place I was looking for. I kicked down the doors, startling the only person inside.

"MOM! I need to head to Butterfly Castle. NOW. Marco's in danger."

 _Star's POV_

"My Queen. My Queen, you need to wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly and saw the ceiling of my … room? But how? Wasn't I just with Marco when … oh no. MARCO.

I sat up abruptly, so I could go to him. He was in danger because of me so I had to take responsibility. I almost succeeded in getting out of bed when I was pushed back down by someone. I turned to the individual who had touched me and saw someone wearing nothing but steel armor. One of my knights, who looked awfully familiar.

"My Queen, you _need_ to _rest_. You lost too much blood and are in no condition to be moving about," the knight said.

I grew furious. I didn't care about _my_ health at the moment. Marco was priority, because without him I would have been dead already.

I smacked her hand away and got off my bed, "No, you listen to me. My savior, as well as the kingdom's, is out there fighting something _I_ involved him in and got hurt because of _me_. I need to go help him before he is injured further or worse. HE NEEDS TO LIVE!"

The knight walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. The feeling felt familiar.

I looked up to the knight's helmet and took it off, a streak of blue bounced out of the helmet. I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was Jackie, my cousin.

"Jackie?! How-"

"Listen Star, I know this guy is important. I get it. But your life is important too so _relax_. Plus, he didn't seem to need anyone's help since he basically took on the ambushers, about twenty of them, all by himself. He looked like he had it under control too since he appeared to be holding back and even gave us a window to escape. That seemed to be his plan all along, which was really brave of him… I need to have a talk with this gentleman … _alone_." she smirked.

Wow. That was too much information to digest. Apparently, Marco was an even better warrior than I thought, he had saved not only my life but the lives of my knights as well as my cousin's, and had most likely planned it _from the start_.

I shook my head in order to regain focus of my priority: Marco, but something needed to be addressed first.

"Jackie, I'm only going to saw this _once_ ," I threw her helmet on the floor and placed my hand over her heart, fully charged with magic, "Stay. Away. From. Him. I don't need you to traumatize him, not that you could, but still." She snickered at me and pressed her finger over my heart. I felt my chest begin to heat up and the smell of something burning penetrate my nostrils.

Show off.

"No need to get so defensive little cousin. I was only joking… sort of." The heat began to increase and I winced from the pain, more than I should have. "Put your hand away Star, we both know how this would end, especially in your poor state. So let's get back to your knight in _red_ shining armor."

My eyes went wide in shock. How could I have forgotten about Marco?!

I tried to bolt out of my room and head towards the direction of the cornfields, but was stopped by Jackie. I had forgotten how fast she was.

"Star did you not listen to me? He's fine. Probably. More than likely… you know what, let's have your little eavesdropper go get him." She directed her gaze towards the corner of my room and smiled, "You can come out Janna. Your Queen _desperately_ needs your assistance."

At first nothing happened, but something began to move near the closed curtains. The smallest shadow in the corner soon morphed into a humanoid silhouette in a matter of seconds. In front of the two royals now stood a girl clad in pitch black leather armor, who went down on one knee, with her head bowed.

"My Queen, how may I assist you?" I walked up to Janna and lifted her off the ground.

"Janna, how many times have I told you to not do that? You're one of my most trusted friends so no need for formalities okay?," she stayed quiet, I sighed. "Alrighty then, Janna, I need you to find Marco Ub-," she rose her hand to stop me and smiled, "which I'm sure you know all the details of what I was going to request." I smiled back. This was why I trusted Janna so much, since she knew exactly what I wanted and needed before I knew myself.

I put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes, "You have my permission to use any means necessary on retrieving Marco," I took a deep breath and realized how hard it was to finish the sentence, "alive or … dead."

Janna nodded and disappeared in a flash of smoke.

"She's good. I almost didn't realize she was there. _Almost_. I can see why you put her in charge of the 'super secret' spies you have. What are they called again? The Order of the Crest? Anyway, let's talk little cousin, because I have a feeling you aren't telling me some _very_ important details regarding Marco." Jackie smiled.

I froze and tried my best to stop my shaking, which she, of course, noticed.

Why? Why must she always do this to me.

"I don't know what you're-" Jackie's laugh interrupted me, "Oh Star, how cute, you still think you can hide things from me. We both know how this dance plays out so you'll either tell me or I'll figure it out through my own means. The second option will be more painful, for you, so-"

"FINE! I'll tell you, just … _please_ leave Marco alone … please…" I pleaded with tears in my eyes. I _hated_ her for doing this EVERY SINGLE TIME I took an interest in someone.

"Star, it's not my fault the past guys have been weak willed and easy to break. Hopefully your knight isn't as easy as the others, because I've been bored as of late and need someone to help _relieve_ my boredom," she grinned, "so let's walk my _little_ star, we have much to discuss." She pushed me out of my room and began to drag me to the gardens.

Marco …

I'm _sorry_ …

 _Marco's POV_

*flashback: 10 years ago*

" _Kelly stop running! It's dangerous around the woods so let's head back okay?"_

" _Oh come on Marco, you scared? It's ok if you are, that just means that you have to do everything I say forever and ever since I'm stronger than you. So are you scared?"_

" _NO! I just … this place gives me a bad feeling so let's leave. Your mom is probably wondering why we haven't been back yet."_

" _Ha! I win! You're scared you're sca-"_

 _We heard a growl and instantly knew we were in trouble._

 _We both turned around, slowly, and came face to face with a pack of wild dogs and they looked hungry._

" _M-M-a-arco … I'm scared."_

" _It's okay Kells, I'll get us out of this mess but you're going to have to close your eyes okay?"_

" _B-But Mar-"_

 _One of the wild dogs pounced on Kelly and was about to bite down on her neck when …_

 _Everything went blank._

We were found near the entrance of the forest, covered in blood.

*End Flashback*

I woke up to the sound of a rooster and slowly opened my tired eyes.

I looked around and saw a table littered with books, a chair on it's side, and a small chimney to my right. No wonder I was sweaty.

I tried to get up but froze when the pain from my side immobilized my movements. I guess the blade had gone farther than I initially thought. I punched my thigh in frustration, not caring for the searing pain that surged throughout my body afterwards. It was my fault that the situation had escalated so quickly, and couldn't help but blame myself for what happened to Star. I had let my guard down for a few seconds and life had reminded me of the consequences.

I was startled out of my thoughts when I heard a door begin to creak open. I looked towards the sound and had to look away from the blinding light of the outside. Once I heard the door close, I looked towards that direction again.

A tall girl, around my age, was standing by the door. She had snow white hair in a pixie cut, soft facial features that were accompanied with a pair of purple eyes, and what appeared to be a slim build. It wasn't hard to tell because of how much the leather armor she wore hugged her body, especially near the thighs and chest area.

She looked at me with such a sincere and warm smile that I smiled back as a reflex.

"Oh thank corn yar' awake! I was starting to worry that ya' had gone into a coma or something, but enough about yar' near death experience. My name is Gwynn, welcome to my … messy home. Sorry for the mess lad, I don't get visitors much so I tend to put off the chores … so what's yar' name?" Gwynn said enthusiastically.

Her accent sounded as if she were from the North, probably from the mountain area. Maybe the Jaggy Mountains? I'll figure it out later.

I sat up, much to my painful discomfort, and got off the bed, almost losing my balance in the process. I did a halfway bow, "My name's Marco and I'm forever in your debt for saving my life. I will make it up to you, I promise, but I have somewhere to be right now." I wobbled over to her and when I was about to reach for the door she grabbed my arm.

"Listen, I'm sure yar' in a hurry but ya' can't be walking around like that. Ya' haven't fully healed lad." She tried to move me towards the bed but found that I hadn't bugged from my spot.

She tried harder but almost fell in her attempt.

"Are ya' made of rocks or somethin", she took a deep breath, "wherever this place is, it must be important if ya' are willing to walk around in that state. Guess I have no choice but to help. I'll give ya' a ride to wherever it is ya' need to go as long as it's somewhat close. I can't leave my place for long or the birds will make an even bigger mess," she chuckled softly, "so where is it ya' need to go?"

I smiled at her kindness, "Butterfly Castle, which shouldn't be far from here."

As soon as my words had left my mouth, I noticed Gwynn go stiff, but regained her composure. I had almost missed it but I've learned to read people for the last couple of years to such a painstaking degree of detail that I couldn't have missed it. But I _almost_ did, and that made me very uneasy.

Gwynn was hiding something from me. She wasn't a normal girl, far from it.

"Butterfly Castle? What business do ya' have there?"

She walked to the other side of the room where the bed was and placed her hands behind her back.

Her vibrant personality was gone, and was replaced by a cold aura. An aura of someone who has _killed_ , a lot.

I looked at her face and smiled.

I had figured out who she was, or at least belonged to. Reading books certainly has its perks.

"Gwynn, I'm a guest of the Queen and needs me-"

I had barely managed to move my head to the side, when a small star shaped blade hit the door where my head used to be.

She rushed me with a green dagger, probably infused with magic by the looks of it, at a lighting speed.

However, even in my injured state, I was faster.

I let her get into my space and at the last second, before the dagger could pierce my abdomen, grabbed her wrist and pulled it towards the side. I brought my knee into her stomach, maybe a little too hard, and saw her collapse on her knees. A second hadn't even passed since the impact but she had managed to jump back a few feet away from me. She clutched her stomach.

She was good.

My knee stung a little, she must have a core of steel because that's the only time my knee had ever hurt in my years of body training. I felt bad, those steel polls never stood a chance.

"Who knew ya' still had the energy to fight back, but yar' as good as dead. I've sent a signal to my superior on yar' whereabouts when you were out cold. I've stalled enough." she started to laugh, but stopped when I joined in.

"What's so damn funny? Yar' about to get executed for conspiring against the Queen and ya' begin to laugh? Yar' insane."

I brushed a few tears from me eyes from laughing too hard, "You may be right about that, but I'm laughing because you saved me the trouble of getting to Star. I _know_ what group you belong to, and I'm honestly impressed. If you're this strong then the others must be just as strong. It seems Star's in good hands."

I smiled and opened the door, only to come face to face with another girl, who seemed to worship the color black.

I noticed Gwynn's mood brighten up from behind me, so I figured this was her superior.

"Gwynn, is this the man you were signaling about?" she asked in an authoritative tone.

"Yes he is, I found him near the cornfields all bloody just right after you gave the orders of searching the place. He looked suspicious so I brought him to the nearest post for questioning." she answered back, almost gleaming with pride.

The girl, that didn't seem to know what smiling was, looked at Gwynn, and then at me. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Gwynn … did you just try to kill the Queen's fiancé?" she said in a dark tone.

To say Gwynn looked scared was an understatement. Poor Gwynn.

"I-I-I d-did not know he-" she stammered.

"Shut _up_ ," she looked at me and sighed, "sorry for my any trouble she caused you-"

I waved my hand in dismissal, "She didn't cause me any trouble. In fact, she saved my life so you promote her or something, I'm sure Star would feel the same way," they looked at me wide-eyed, especially Gwynn, "plus, she put my mind at ease since she is very capable of defending the Queen. If I were anyone else a few moments ago, I'd be dead." I chuckled. "I assume Star is doing better if you're here. She asked you to go look for me, right?"

The girl looked at me and, for the first time ever, I assume, smiled.

"You are interesting Marco, very interesting, but yes. The Queen did ask me to find you," she glanced over at Gwynn, "by _any_ means necessary so we should head out as soon as possible. She is alone with her cousin at the moment, and I fear for the Queen's safety since her cousin seems to only bring turmoil into her life." she sighed.

She must really have a lot of trust in me to be blurting out Star's problems, even though we've just met. It made me happy to have someone trust me, besides Star, in this unfamiliar kingdom.

I moved past her and looked out towards the north, noticing Butterfly Castle in the distance.

This was a good place to wait for her.

I turned back towards to the two girls and smiled, "Mind if you two go ahead? I have something I need to take care of."

The girl in black walked up to me and leaned forward, practically breathing in my ear.

"Name's Janna, and you better not keep the Queen waiting Marco, she _needs_ you right now."

Not long after that, they were gone. Leaving me to enjoy the cool breeze that passed by the fields.

"You better hurry up," my stomach growled, "you know how important breakfast is for me."

I then heard the galloping of horses not too far and smiled.

Just on time, as usual.

Hopefully she doesn't kill me after seeing how bad I look.

 _Kelly's POV_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T GO!" I yelled at my mom. How could she be doing this to me _right_ _now_. Marco needed me.

"Kelly, you need to calm down. Marco is fine, he has the Queen with him, who is one of the most powerful magic users in existence. So please just-"

"How could you say that to me? … You know how I feel about him … "

I felt tears begin to form on the corner of my eyes, but I blinked them away.

I looked at her and scoffed, "I knew you wouldn't understand … after everything Marco has done for us you still …" I covered my mouth to hold back a sob. "He helped us get over dad's death and so much more, so please … I can't lose him because of a Butterfly … it'll be like dad all over again."

I pained look on my mother's face told me she felt the same way too. She walked up to me and hugged me tightly, as if this were a goodbye, and began to brush my hair with her hands.

"Honey, listen to me, Marco will be fine. That boy is more capable than you might think," she chuckled, "BUT he's family so we can't take any-"

"Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU mom!" I tried to bolt out of her grip but couldn't, she was stronger than me after all.

I sighed, here came the ultimatum.

"You have to take Higgs with you, since she has more finesse when it comes to … delicate matters." she released me, and patted my head. "Now go get your boyfriend." she teased.

"MOM!"

It didn't take long, after the talk with my mom, to find Higgs.

She was in her room, sleeping with a red hoodie on … wait … wasn't that Marco's?!

I pushed her off the bed, which startled the ginger. She looked at me with groggy green eyes, and a scowl.

"Kelly what the FUCK! I was _sleeping_ you know-" I lifted her off the floor, and punched her arm. Before she could protest, I began to drag her towards her wardrobe.

"Listen, I don't know _why_ you are wearing one of Marco's hoodies but I will ask him when I see him," Higgs eyes were filled with anger,

"and you can bet that I-" she chuckled.

"Kelly could you stop being a jealous brat for _five seconds_ and let me explain?" I let her go and she straightened herself, "this was a gift from Marco … noticed that I tend to go outside in the cold, even when it snowed, without my fur coats since they make me feel uncomfortable and give me rashes." She sat on her bed and began to tug at the hood, "One day, he just walked up to me and handed me this," she gestured to the hoodie, "and told me that I shouldn't be going out in the cold like that since it was dangerous. Of course I tried to give it back several times but he wouldn't accept it." she smiled. "Last time I tried to return it, about a year ago, he told me that I should just keep it since he had more than enough hoodies, plus he had outgrown the one I had. It's odd. I don't like having my arms covered at all, especially with clothes, but his hoodie is SO DAMN SOFT. It's like wearing a cloud or something," she turned to face me, "so I don't mind it too much. It helps me sleep better too."

My rage subsided a bit. Of course Marco would do something like that, he's always there to help someone even before they ask for it. That's one of the qualities I absolutely _love_ about him.

I sighed, "Sorry about that Higgs. I shouldn't be so jealous, especially since all three of us have been best friends for years. But seriously girl, don't get any funny ideas okay?"

Higgs smiled at my 'warning' and said, "Fully noted. Now, why would you wake me up in the middle of the night? Does it have to do with Marco? Because if it doesn't then I'm going back to sleep." She flopped down on the bed to emphasize her point.

"Higgs you have exactly five minutes to get ready before I leave you behind and I don't care of the consequences in doing so," she sat up to look at me with a worried look, "Marco is in danger, I _feel_ it. He needs my help so I'm heading to Butterfly Castle as soon as I pack a few things. Five minutes is all you have. Tick Tock." I left the room and closed the door behind me as I headed towards Marco's room.

The last thing I heard from Higgs's room was the sound of drawers being opened at an alarming rate.

~ _Several Hours Later_ ~

The trip wasn't as bad as Higgs or I had thought. The area around Butterfly Castle was rather tamed and ... organized? Yeah, I'm going to go with organized.

"Hey Kelly, are we almost there yet? This saddle isn't doing my ass any favors."

"Stop whining Higgs, we are almost …" I stopped when I noticed some blood on the ground ahead of us. I signaled Higgs to slow down, and we inspected, from our horses, what appeared to be blood stains on the ground.

"Hey, Kelly, are you alright? You suddenly grabbed at your side for some reason. Do you need to stop and rest?"

I hadn't even noticed that I was doing that.

Something about this blood …

I got off my horse and went to inspect it. I knelt down and my chest suddenly tightened for some reason, and it was making me feel claustrophobic, but I had to keep looking for clues.

There was something soft on the ground, so I picked it up to have a better look ...

My whole world seemed to unravel and come crashing down.

It was a piece of Marco's hoodie … covered in blood … his blo-

I dropped it, and started to look around frantically. There had to be a trail of … found it!

"Did you find something Kel-"

I bolted in the direction that the trail was leading to. I couldn't even hear Higgs's screams because of the sound of the wind in my ears. I didn't know for how long I had ran, and I didn't care. Marco had to be around here. I could _feel_ his presence, so where was-

I stopped ...

Up ahead stood a figure that looked to be in bad shape, judging from how bandaged his side was.

He looked very familiar, but I couldn't get a look at his face from the angle that I stood.

It couldn't be-

"Took you long enough Kells. I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show up."

I choked on a gasp and began to tremble. I had to cover my mouth to hold back my tears.

It didn't work.

It was Marco …

He was alive …

But not for long after I'm through-

"Kells, I know what you're thinking and have every right to be upset with me. I got careless, and I'm _sorry_. It _won't_ happen again, I promise." In an instant he was next to me.

How did he do that? It must have been my teary eyes playing tricks on me because it looked like he had just _teleported_ to me.

He embraced me and I released a breath that I hadn't realized had been trapped.  
How I missed his warmth…

I hugged him back, clinging to him as if he was going to disappear … again, and buried my face into his chest.

"You idiot …," was all I could manage to say over and over while he petted my hair.

I heard the trotting of horses behind me and didn't let go of my hold on him when they stopped next to us.

"Hey Higgs, thanks for keeping Kelly company. I owe you one." I heard her scoff at him.

"Yea, you sure do _nerd_ , but now isn't the time for hugs and kisses huh?"

I felt him shift in place, never breaking his embrace. I felt the hardened muscles on his chest and couldn't help but blush.

Where had he been hiding all of _this_?

"You couldn't be more right Higgs," Marco sighed, "but this isn't the place for catching up. We can talk in the castle, I have a few people waiting for me already."

I felt my feet leave the ground and didn't realize what happened until I saw Marco's face a few inches from mine.

He was carrying me in his arms … bridal style.

Hopefully he wouldn't notice how hot my face felt or how much I was pressing my body into his.

He looked over at Higgs and smiled. "Do you mind going ahead with the horses? I have something I need to show Kelly."

Higgs nodded with a smile on her face and went on ahead.

He looked back at me and I squeaked, which made him smile.

"Kelly, I'm about to show you something important. Something I've been hiding for a while now, but hopefully you can forgive me for hiding it from you."

Oh Marco, if only you knew.

"So hold on tight okay? Don't let go no matter what. Please."

His voice was so gentle that I couldn't help but nod.

He smiled, "Alright, here it goes."

I closed my eyes when a sudden pressure compressed my body into his and it felt slightly uncomfortable, but not unpleasant.

The feeling had lasted for less than a second, so I opened my eyes and gasped.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was the entrance to Butterfly Castle, but how? We were at least a half an hour away still so how-

"I'm sure you're confused Kells, but all you have to know for now is that what I just did is very special. So don't tell anyone about it okay? It'll be our little secret." He winked at me.

My mind was all over the place, but I nodded anyway.

We waited for Higgs to get to the castle and her confused face said it all. Marco promised to tell

her at a later time, and gestured for us to follow him. The knights posted at the doors seemed to recognize him, weird, and let us through.

We made our way to what I assumed to be the throne room, and were greeted by trumpets.

Up ahead, on the throne, was the Queen. She had a smile on her face when she saw Marco, but it soon changed when she saw me, holding onto him.

I smirked.

This was going to get interesting.

 **A/N** **: Sorry for the 'late' update, but it's longer than usual so hopefully that compensates a bit. This POV stuff was a little more challenging, but fun so I think I'm going to keep it up. Hopefully the story is starting to seem more interesting, I'm trying here o.o I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I like to introduce something or someone, and then flesh it out little by little afterwards. as always, any feedback as always appreciated and a big thank you to all of you who have given this story a shot and for the support. Hope you enjoyed and until next time.**


	4. Tactics

**A/N** **: Hello there! Fast update, I know. This chapter will be experimental because I'm going to try something that I have never tried in writing before. Hopefully it isn't too bad, but it's a learning experience right? Thank you all for the continued support and feedback! This story is doing better than I thought it would, so thank you. Seriously, thank you. Well enough of that, let's get to what you people came for. Enjoy the show.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right of the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

 _ ***Chapter 4***_

 _Marco's POV_

The throne room was smaller than I expected, but it probably seemed that way since it was densely packed with what appeared to be royals and citizens of Mewni. Something of importance must have been in motion.

I noticed Star sitting on her throne and to say she looked beautiful was an understatement, but she looked … mad. I wonder why.

I felt Kelly's hold on me tighten, pressing her body into me a _little_ too much.

Oh. That's why Star was mad and I figured it was in everyone's best interest to not get her angrier.

I looked towards Star and smiled, "Kells, could you loosen your hold on me for a bit? I need to-," I whispered.

Her hold only tightened further which, even though felt nice, was not doing me or my friends any favors. Hopefully Star isn't too upset-

A sudden pressure filled the room, which forced everyone to look up towards the only person who was able to do such a thing, the Queen.

"Marco, it's so nice of you to _finally_ join us," she stood up in front of her throne and put her hands behind her back, "and you brought _friends_. Oh goody. Was _this_ the reason you didn't return with the escort I sent for you over an _hour ago_? It must have been important, more important than _your_ _Queen_ it seems."

Yup. She was definitely angry.

I must be prone to making woman mad.

I cleared my throat and gave Kelly a serious look. She sighed, nodded, and let me go. She walked towards Higgs who was a few feet behind me, which I was glad was here. She could keep Kelly in check for a while. Better make this quick.

I walked towards Star, but stopped at the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne and bowed. Once I brought myself back up, I was met with a cold stare. The pressure increased.

"My Queen, I'm sorry for making you wait. I had to deal with ... a personal matter. I hope you understand, but it had to be done." I said in a gentle tone. "As for the escort," I smiled, "I hope they can also forgive me for my stubbornness."

Star's cold stare crumbled. She walked down the steps and stopped right in front of me, looking up into my eyes. In a blink of an eye, she had rapped her arms around me and whispered, "I'm glad you're okay. I was really worried. We'll talk more later, in _private_."

She pulled away and walked back to her throne, anger no longer present.

Since the pressure wasn't crushing people anymore, a sigh of relief was felt throughout the throne room. A crisis had been averted, now if it could just stay that way I'll be-

"Your highness, who is this _peasant_? And why do you treat him as _your equal_?"

I sighed.

Of course it couldn't last.

Everyone's attention was directed to the speaker. A royal with red hair, whose coat sported a decent amount of medals, was standing on the royal's side of the room. He looked at me with such disdain that I almost laughed, but I held it in. So instead, I smiled at him.

He cleared his throat and turned to Star. "This outsider, from the looks of it, shouldn't even be here. As the commanding general of Mewni's forces, I request that he be-" Star slammed her fist on her throne, cracking it a bit, which was followed by heavy silence.

"I don't remember _asking_ for your opinion Henry," she stood up and walked next to me, "but I suppose now would be a good time as any to inform my kingdom of some very important news." I saw her turn to face me and, on the tips of her toes, managed to kiss me on the lips.

Was I surprised? Yes, yes I was.

I was surprised further when she hopped and latched onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist to support herself. She deepened the kiss and I felt her tongue trying to gain entrance past my lips. Out of

shock, I complied, much to her enjoyment. It was starting become _really_ _hot_ , and I was beginning to melt into the kiss. Star certainly knew what she was doing, but I on the other hand was winging it. This was new territory for me.

I felt Star release her grip and part from my face. A small trail of saliva connected our lips, and she looked satisfied. She had the look of someone who had just claimed victory over an opponent. But who was the-

Past Star, I saw Kelly and she looked _sad_. Now I understood why Star had done what she did. It was a declaration of war and she had just won a battle in said war.

She hopped off of me and turned to face the audience. "Citizens of Mewni, and _others_ , I am very pleased to announce that this fine gentleman who goes by the name of Marco Ubaldo Diaz is _my_ fiancé." The room was silent, especially from the royals side. "Oh, silly me, I almost forgot. As of today, _my_ fiancé will be my second in command when it comes to my armies so any decisions he deems correct will be fully supported by me, the Queen." She glanced back at me and smiled, then turned back to face her people.

What had I gotten myself into?

It was silent for a few seconds until what Star had announced finally settled into her people's minds and the room erupted.

"Is that even legal-"

"He's not even a royal so he can't-"

"He seems like a nice guy-"

Henry made his way to the middle aisle and stood there, facing Star and me.

"My Queen, _this is absurd_! A peasant can't marry royalty! It's unheard of! And don't get me started on him taking _my_ position as commanding general. He is an uneducated son of a-"

"ENOUGH!," the room went silent, once again, "I will not stand here and let you insult-"

I placed my hand on Star's shoulder, stopping her mid-sentence, and she turned to me. Rage was written all over her face. "I'll handle this," I whispered.

Before she could answer, I made my way up to Henry and chuckled.

"That's not how a royal should be speaking. As for the comment about my mother well, lucky for you, I don't even remember her … so please don't insult someone who I don't have any memory of. I would _really_ appreciate it." I said in a dark tone.

I must have spoken a little too loud since the room was still quiet, even Henry now stared at me with caution.

Good.

I cleared my throat, "It would seem that I need to prove my worth to all of you. I'm used to this treatment, so no hard feelings," I smiled at everyone, "so I know a perfect way to show how 'educated' I am, but the peasant thing is somewhat true so I'm not even going to argue against that because, in all honesty, I don't care." I shifted my gaze toward Henry, "So, are you ready to play a little game that I like to call _Conquest_? It's a strategy game that will show who is better suited to be the one in charge of Mewni's forces. If you win, then you keep your position and I'll leave the kingdom, for good. If I win, then all I ask is for you to show Star a little more respect because, between you and me, she was about to blast you out of this kingdom. So, deal?" I extended my arm to him.

It took a minute, but he shook my hand. Whispering among the people broke out soon after.

The show was about to begin.

I turned and walked back to Star, who looked very pale. It was probably because of the conditions I had set. I felt bad for not telling her of my plan ahead of time. It must have slipped my mind when she was trying to eat my face. I chuckled internally.

Payback was sweet.

"Hey Star, I need you to do me a small favor. Could you use magic to simulate the game for everyone in the throne room to see?" She didn't respond, so I waved my hand in front of her face. "Hey Star you in the-"

"How could you?... How could you decide something like that without _telling_ _me_ _first_?!" she whispered harshly.

I scoffed at her contradiction, "Funny, I thought you said you trusted my decisions."

She glared at me, "This is _different_ Mar-"

"Can you do me the favor or not Star? I don't have all day, and neither does your kingdom." I flicked her nose, "And that's for not believing in me." That seemed to get her out of her panic attack since she giggled.

No longer upset, she went back to her throne and, with the help of her wand, displayed what appeared to be a giant mirror above her head for everyone to see.

It was perfect.

The crowd settled down once they noticed the enormous mirror like object floating above their Queen.

I turned back towards the crowd, and spotted Kelly who still looked sad, but noticed me looking at her. I smiled at her, but that only seemed to make her sadder. I would have to explain Star's situation after this, with or without her approval, since I owed Kelly at least that much. She was my best friend after all.

I clapped my hands together in order to get their attention. The loud sound bounced off the walls and everyone turned to me.

I cleared my throat, "In order for the game to work, or make sense, I will need to create a theoretical scenario to display both player's strategic mindset." I looked over at Star who gave me a thumbs up. She was ready. "So the scenario goes as follows: Toffee's soldiers have our troops, who only carry swords, shields and spears, surrounded with the Queen in the middle. His troops number at a hundred, and so do ours. The Queen is unable to aid in the battle since she is unconscious." I noticed everyone paying close attention to my every word, especially Star, so I continued. "The rules are quite simple. For starters, our troops are only made up of common foot soldiers, except for the few medics. They aren't part of the one hundred. Second, there are a maximum of five turns to beat the scenario. Lastly, the player who beats the scenario with the _least_ amount of casualties, combined with the least amount of turns, wins. The judges will be the Queen, and the rest of the generals in the room." I interpreted their silence as everyone understanding the game and its rules, which surprised me.

I gestured towards Henry, who was smirking, "Since I challenged Henry, he gets to go first. Oh, before I forget, our very turn will be simulated on the mirror you all see before you."

Henry walked up and stopped a few feet to my left. "For my first turn, I will command my soldiers who bear shields to go in front, followed by the spearmen, and then the swordsmen. I end my turn." The mirror displayed fierce Mewmen soldiers following the orders and going into formation.

I had to admit, it wasn't a bad move but…

I sat on the ground and crossed my legs, "For my first turn, I will command my soldiers to do a

Roman Testudo (Tortoise) followed by the spearmen in a square formation. The swordsmen will fall a little behind them. I end my turn." The mirror then split into two, now showing the amount of troops alive on the top right hand corners. One showed Henry's troops, while the other displayed my soldiers forming into mini-tortoise like fortresses. My formation looked weird, which the crowd confirmed with their murmuring, but it was in a book I read about warfare a few years ago. It was good when dealing with enemies that had you surrounded, but every formation has its weaknesses.

It was Henry's turn now.

"For my second turn, my soldiers will form small pockets, in the formations they are in, and engage the enemy. I end my turn." His mirror portrayed soldiers in their formations, managing to separate the enemy forces to Henry's advantage. The royals cheered as they witnessed Henry's forces winning against Toffee's army, little by little he gained ground _(0 casualties)._

I clapped in approval.

I was about to get serious.

I closed my eyes, trying to envision the outcomes of my next few moves and they all looked …

"For my second turn, I command my troops to engage the enemy at a decent pace going outwards, like a blooming flower," a few in the crowd chuckled, "and for the swordsmen to follow close behind in order to take care of any complications that the testudos might run into." My mirror suddenly displayed my troops moving outwards, like I ordered, and what happened next made me smile. The monsters were trying to break off the testudos but were met with spears from the inside of the fortresses, as well as swords from supporting units. The monsters had looks of frustration as they couldn't break through our ranks and were soon meeting their end. The crowd and I continued to watch as monsters were slain by the impenetrable testudos, the spearmen looked as if they spear hunting fish out of water.

Shallow water.

"I end my turn." I said with a grin _(0 casualties)._

Henry looked nervous, but didn't lose his smirk. Some of the royals had even stopped cheering and just sat there with their mouths wide open. I guess had I surprised or impressed them.

Henry walked past me, purposely hitting me with his shoulder, and stood below his mirror.

"For my third turn, I command my troops to-" he stopped. He had finally realized _it_.

His troops looked thinner, and were beginning to be pushed back. The number read _(31 casualties)_ and continued to increase.

He was losing, and the bodies around his soldier's feet confirmed the misfortune. It was going downhill for him, and fast.

"-I command my troops to … to … gather the wounded and … retreat." He sighed and began to walk back towards his seat, but I stopped him.

"Look towards my mirror," he gave me a confused look, "and learn from it." He was shocked.

The monsters had been dwindled to less than ten percent of the initial amount and were retreating. I turned to the crowd, that appeared to be speechless, and smiled.

I better wrap this up.

"For my third and final turn, I command my troops to retreat backwards cautiously, never breaking formation, and recover the wounded on the way. The meads on me, and with that I end my turn." I bowed _(0 casualties)_.

The crowd erupted in applause and incoherent praise, even the royals were in on it. I had proved myself to the people of Mewni and, hopefully, would make my life easier from now on. But knowing my luck, probably not.

I was suddenly tackled by a green bush and stumbled backwards.

Kelly had her arms wrapped around me and looked to be imitating what Star had done earlier. The only difference was that Kelly was just staring up into my eyes, with a huge grin on her face.

She was too adorable for her own good.

"Marco! You did it! You showed these fools how smart you are! I knew you would w-"

I leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and watched her turn as red as a tomato.

"Ma-Marco?! Wh-What are you doing?!" she stammered.

Cute.

In all honesty, I had no idea what came over me to suddenly kiss Kelly, but I wasn't against it for some reason.

I was brought back to my senses when I sensed magic being shot towards me and barely managed to tumble out of the way, since Kelly was in my arms.

" _Marcooo_ , what do you think you're _doing in_ _ _front of__ _your Queen_?"

I looked up to see Star pointing her wand at me.

Or Kelly?

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM YOU STUPID INSECT!" Kelly yelled as she wiggled out from under me.

Star began to charge her wand with purplish magic.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?" she yelled back. The throne room began to tremble and the people rushed out through the enormous double doors, except for Higgs who looked annoyed at all three of us.

Wait. Why me?

I sighed.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

 **A/N** **: OOOOHHH is something going to go down? O.o Probably. This chapter was only Marco's POV since I was trying that whole 'battle scene simulation' thing. I hope that wasn't too cringe. There actually is a game called** _ **Conquest**_ **, which I don't claim any rights over, but I only used the name in the story and historical context I suppose, nothing more. I'll go back to doing multiple POVs in the next chapter, I promise. As always, any feedback is always appreciated and a super BIG thank you to all of you who have supported this story so far. The reviews I've been getting have been great too! Oh, and sorry for grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoyed and until next time.**


	5. He Knows

**A/N** **: Hello everyone! This chapter will be somewhat long, and hopefully an interesting one. Thanks again for all the support and feedback! I love reading your comments and your views on how the story is progressing, especially those that try to guess the future of it. Which may be right, or not. Who knows? As a side note, please remember that I like to mention things and then explain them in future chapters. I think it's more interesting that way for you, the reader, and I, the writer. I'm not really a fan of stories that give you everything there is to know in the first few chapters because there's no mystery to the characters. However, I do recognize that this way may be a little painful for some of you so I will reveal some things here. Marco on the other hand, I would like to keep somewhat mysterious. It's for fun. By the way, I will be experimenting with third person in this chapter so let me know how that goes. Without further delay, here's the new chapter.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

 _ **Marco's POV**_

The two sprung into action, with full intent in harming the other. Kelly had her trusty greatsword, that she pulled out of her 'hair dimension', while Star had transformed into what appeared to be a golden butterfly and was now airborne. Star began to shoot magic out of her hands at Kelly who could do nothing but deflect them as she ran at her. She got within range of Star and jumped up, bringing down her greatsword in a downward arch. Star dogged it, barely, and grew furious. She dove at Kelly, who was ready to swing at the incoming Butterfly, with a raised fist full of magic.

"ENOUGH!" The sound of my voice echoed throughout the room.

In a split second I was standing between them, holding Kelly's greatsword mid-swing with one hand while I stopped Star's fist with the other. To say their attacks didn't hurt me would be a lie, but that wasn't important right now.

"I will not _stand_ _here_ and _watch_ you two kill each other. Now back off, both of you." I ordered.

Star turned back to her 'normal' form and took a few steps back. Her face was showing hurt, guilt, and rage all at once, but seemed to be restraining herself. Kelly was a different story. She had seen an opening and pulled her greatsword out of my grip, and prepared to rush at Star.

I swatted her sword out of her hands and grabbed her by the collar, pulling her face towards mine.

" _Stop_." I said in frustrated tone. The look in her watery eyes showed so much pain, that I almost

caved in and tried to comfort her, but I stopped myself. She had made a mistake and needed to

see the error of her ways, even if it was unbearable to watch.

"You would take _her_ side over me?," pain evident in her voice, "The Butterfly family is the reason _my dad isn't alive_!" She yelled.

*sigh* "Kelly…"

"NO Marco! …. No … Her parents _ordered_ my dad to help in escorting them to the Lucitor Kingdom for whatever reason, I don't know, but it didn't go well did it _princess_?" Star didn't seem to have been fazed, and continued to stare at Kelly with disdain. This made Kelly angrier and tried to walk past me, but I stretched out my hand and stopped her. "Now you're trying to take away Marco from me. _My_ best friend and ... ," she looked at me with soft eyes which soon showed determination, "I won't let you. I lost a parent because of _your_ war and I will not lose the person who made me enjoy life again … DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

Star scoffed, " _I_ had nothing to do with that. I wasn't even in the kingdom when it happened … when both of my parents were killed …," her face softened but quickly rehardened, "at least _you_ still have _one_ of your parents. Lucky you."

It was becoming extremely hard for me to watch them go on. I had to do something.

"Look, guys, let's just rel-"

"It's a good thing your parents were killed. They deserved it."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard come out of Kelly's mouth and, before I could say anything, saw Higgs running up to us.

She grabbed Kelly and began to pull her away to the benches. "Whoa there. I think that's enough of that. I'm sure both parties have said some … _interesting_ things about each other, so let's take a break and cool off." She looked at me and shook her head. Higgs was telling me that now wasn't a good time for a lecture, and I had to agree.

I turned to Star and made eye contact. I could tell her front was crumbling. Kelly had hit a nerve. "I'll … be … in my room." She walked out of the room and headed down a hallway. As soon as she got close to the corner, she sprinted out of sight.

I couldn't believe this.

I grabbed a coin out of my pocket and threw it towards a shadow behind a pillar.

"Janna, the show's over. I need a favor." The shadow moved, and out came an angry Janna.

"What is it that you need Marco?" she asked in a snappy tone, "that coin hurt, you know?" She punched my arm hard, but ended up hurting herself. "What are you _made off?_ _Steel_?"

"Janna, take my friends to wherever it is I'll be staying. I need to go after Star. Oh, and Janna, I'm going to need all the information you have on Toffee soon." She looked at me with confusion, but shrugged. "As you wish."

"Hey Higgs," she looked up at me, "keep her out of trouble and thanks for the save."

She waved me off, "Just go already. I'll take care of her."

I nodded and went to search for Star.

I was walking through a hallway with many tapestries that appeared to be of Mewni's past Queens, from the first to the current one, Star, but one of them made me stop in my tracks.

I looked up at the tapestry and, for some reason, felt a warmth run through my body.

"That's Eclipsa Butterfly, aka Queen of Darkness." I turned to the voice and knew who she was, name wise anyway. "She lived around three hundred years ago and was one of the strongest Queen's to date." Jackie walked up to me and extended her hand so I shook it. "I'm sure you already know my name because of the whole ambush thing. Thanks for that by the way. I'm Star's cousin and bestie, so what's a handsome man like you doing here _all alone_? By the way, I enjoyed that game of yours. It was rather _exciting_."

I could tell this girl was trouble, and remembered what Janna had told me about her. Plus, I didn't notice her in the throne room or _hear_ her sneak up on me. She was trouble indeed.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you once again Jackie, and I'm sure you know who I am... Hey, can I ask you for a favor?"

She smiled, "Sure Marco, what's up?"

I began to rub my neck nervously, "Could you take me to Star's room? I seem to be lost."

She chuckled and grabbed my hand. "Sure, but do you mind if we make a quick stop at my room? I need to change into more comfortable clothes."

That seemed harmless enough, "Sure, lead the way."

The walk was held in silence, much to my relief.

"Well here we are," she opened the door and led me inside. Once inside she walked into her bathroom in a hurry, "I won't take long. Make yourself comfortable." As soon as she closed the door, a chill went down my spine. I had a bad feeling.

I tried to distract myself so I sat on her bed and looked around the room. I saw multiple posters with the words 'Karate' on them. The stances that the characters on the posters were doing were strangely familiar to some I had seen in books, which I've used as references for my personal training.

I heard the door begin to open and turned.

My bad feeling had come true.

Out of the bathroom walked out a _very_ underdressed Jackie. She was wearing a see through white top with greenish sleeves and blue shorts. I had to focus on her face since she didn't appear to be wearing _anything_ under her shirt. Where all mewman woman this _open_? The ones that I've met so far proved to be … well, maybe not Janna. Hopefully not.

"Well Marco, these are my lazy clothes. What do you _think~_?"

She knew what she was doing.

"Umm, they seem comfortable?" I replied nervously.

"Oh you have _no idea~?_ " she moved closer to me and leaned forward, "care for a _peek~_?" she teased. This wasn't the first time I had seen a woman's body. I have Higgs to thank for that because of a mishap a few years ago on my way to the baths … we didn't talk for a few weeks after that. However, I would be lying if I said Jackie's invitation wasn't tempting, she was very beautiful and curvy in the right places... but Star was my priority right now. Plus, Kelly would kill me if she found out about this. There was only one possible option.

I sighed and placed my hands on her shoulders, which seemed to startle her, "Look Jackie, I'm honored for the uhh … _invitation_ , but I can't accept. You're really beautiful and I could tell you're very smart too, so I would just be a waste of your time." I stood up and awkwardly moved her to the right, "I have to go to Star now, thanks for the help."

"Wait Marco! Let me at least tell you where …"

I walked out of the room and closed the door. 'Hopefully that satisfies her ego.' My goofing off for the day was over, so I decided to cut my personal tour of the castle short and headed towards Star's room in a snap.

 _ **Star's POV**_

That _stupid_ bush girl! How dare she assault _me_ , the _Queen_! I grabbed a pillow from my bed and yelled into it. Once I had gotten the frustration out of my system, I got off my bed and walked towards the balcony. The sunset was beautiful. I looked over my kingdom and couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. _I_ was supposed to protect all of this from Toffee, the Immortal. So many had tried to get rid of him, and had failed.

*sigh* 'At least now I had Marco on my side, but that _friend_ of his was starting to become a problem to my plans. Maybe I should …'

I heard the sound of something tearing behind me so I turned around. It was a red portal. I felt my spirits begin to return when I saw two golden horns with a flame in the middle appear out of it.

It was Hekapoo, my stepmom.

Once she fully stepped out, I was tackled into a hug. "Hello sweetie! How have you been? You've grown since I've last seen you! Your shaping into a real woman now, well, maybe not in the chest depart-"

"Alright! *sigh* _Relax_ _mom_ , you saw me yesterday. Oh right, the whole _time_ stuff. Got it. So what brings you here?" I asked as I tried to get out of her hug to no avail.

"Whattttt? Can't a mother want to see her daughter? Of course she can. So-"

"Look, mom, I'm happy you're here. I truly am, especially after what just happened, but I know you're also here for something else so spilllll."

*sigh* "You truly are Moon's daughter. So smart, beautiful … _cunning_ but, sadly, you're right. I came to check up on you. How's the plan going? Did you get _him_ to join?" I began to giggle. "Star, what's so funny? This is _serious_."

"Oh I know it is mom, but you don't need to worry about that because-"

Before I could finish my sentence, she had darted to the door in a flash and opened it, grabbing a familiar red hooded individual and bringing him into my room.

"Looks like we have an eavesdropper. I'll get rid-"

"Wait mom! That's _Marco_ … _my fiancé_ … so let him go. He wouldn't harm me, at least not intentionally. I think. Anyways, let him go."

She stared at Marco for a few seconds, and grinned. She had finally recognized it was _him_.

"Oh, sorry about that." She dropped Marco with a loud thud. He got up slowly, rubbing his back, and looked at me. His eyes were filled with guilt and sadness. It was making me worried.

"Marco? What's wrong?"

He didn't say anything and began to walk up to me. Once he was a few centimeters from me, where I could feel his breath tickling my nose, he hugged me. _Hard_.

"I'm sorry Star … I shouldn't have let it get out of hand. I'll make Kelly apologize, but you're going to have to apologize too. You did try to kill her after all," he lifted my chin to look up at him, "which I need to _punish_ you for." I got a little lightheaded from hearing that, which was odd, but before I could say anything he began to laugh. "Sorry Star, I couldn't help myself. Oh, don't pout. You deserved that." He looked at Hekapoo and smiled.

He pulled away from the hug, walked up to her, and stook out his hand. "Where are my manners? My name is Marco Ubaldo Diaz, and you are Hekapoo, the Scissors Enforcer, correct?" He said with a smirk.

To my surprise, she smacked him on the head. "It's been a while _Marco the Elusive_ , I'm Star's stepmom by the way. Nice to see you again. Bye." She then threw him into a portal, to corn knows where.

"MOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! We _need_ him rememb-"

"Oh relax sweetie. He'll be fine, I've done this to him before. If he makes it out of _this one_ then it proves he is going to be useful in our plan. Now let's go eat something, because he's going to take a wh-"

*flash*

I had to shield my eyes from the blinding light, and when the it died down, my vision refocused.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was Marco without a shirt! He was _toned_ and had … two rows of _abs._ _My_ _corn_ , was it getting _hot_ in here? I began to fan my face as I saw him rotate his neck until I heard a pop, and looked at my mom. She looked like a fish out of water and I couldn't blame her.

She snapped out of her daze and tried to play it off. "W-Wow, that's impressive. I can see why you want to _tie him down_ sweetie. " she teased. "Sorry about that Marco. I was testing my daughters choice of a future King to Mewni, and it seems you've gotten _better_ … in more ways than one. She definitely has my approval in her choice."

*sigh* "Hekapoo, look, I enjoy being thrown into a monster infested dimension as much as the next guy, but that was rude. And thanks for the compliment, I guess." he looked at me and scoffed. "Star why are you so surprised? I thought you knew _everything_ about me." He was right. Janna _and_ Hekapoo had informed me about Marco and his _abilities_ , but I didn't believe them. I _couldn't_. My hands began to shake with rage.

They were _too_ similar to…

I smiled back at him, hoping he hadn't noticed my slip-up, "I've been informed Marco. It's just … astonishing to see it in person. Plus, not many people have passed one of my mom's trials, especially at the age of _fourteen_ , and returned in one piece." He seemed pleased with my response, and didn't press further.

My mom, seeming to have been deep in thought, staring at Marco's back for some reason, threw at dagger at Marco so fast that I didn't even see it fly out of her hands. I looked towards Marco, expecting the worst, and sighed in relief.

Wait.

HE CAUGHT IT!?

He was playing with the flaming dagger in his hand. "Hekapoo, you should know better by now. _Someone_ might get _hurt_." he said in a serious tone. He walked up to her and placed the dagger in her hand, "You wouldn't want a repeat of what happened to your clones right?" and walked back to me. She looked at her hand and smiled, clearly _liking_ what she had seen, "You are just full of surprises Marco," she laughed. "You _have_ to become the future King now, so take a break from blacksmithing. We both know where your _real_ talents lie. In fact, you and my daughter should start making the next heirs right aw-," an ominous ringing cut her off. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a mirror phone, rolling her eyes. "Oh, would you look at the time, I must go sweetie. Omni told me not be out for too long. Oh, and Marco, I'll be seeing you again _real soon_." She opened a portal and leapt through it, leaving a very sweaty Marco and me alone.

 _Yes_ , I mean no! I shouldn't be feeling this way! Stupid conflicting emotions!

Butttt … I wanted to keep him shirtless a _little_ bit longer.

"Sooooo, Marco, did you know my stepmom is the leader of the Magic High Commission (MHC) after my real mom and a few members of the commission were … killed by Toffee and his armies? She adopted me as her daughter soon after that and she's been great." I smiled when I thought of all the memories my new mom and I shared when we tried to bond. "It was tough at first, but we pulled through. Hekapoo and Omnitraxus Prime are the only ones left in overseeing magic related problems so they are usually always busy. I would be part of it too, but I got a war on my plate so she told me to focus on that." Marco nodded but, as he did so, his abs contracted making my breathing hitch. I almost let some drool escape my mouth, but caught myself.

I had to get a hold of myself but his _abs_ …

"I know who they are Star, but thanks for the extra info- Star? You okay? Why are you biting your wand?" His question brought me out of my daydream.

"Darn, Marco, I was getting to the good part." I whined, which caused him to raise his eyebrow at me and smirk. "What good part Star? Does it involve the _plan_ I overheard about"

"Oh, no-no-nothing. D-Don't worry about it Marco. It's nothing."

*Ahem* "No Star, tell us. What is this plan you speak of?"

I turned around to see… Higgs.

Great.

Marco walked over to Higgs and put his hand on her shoulder, "You may want to sit down for this. It's going to be _a lot_ of information." He looked over at me and smirked, "That I would _personally_ love to tell you _all_ about."

 _Fuck_.

 _He knew_.

 _ **(This is that third person thing I was talking about. Hybrid POV, I suppose.)**_

The three girls walked through the castle's halls in silence, especially the two friends. As they walked, Higgs decided to do Marco a favor and lecture Kelly on his behalf. That's what friends were for after all. She tapped Kelly's shoulder, making her stop in her tracks. "Look, Kelly, I'm not going to defend the Queen's actions but what you said back there was a little harsh don't you think?" Higgs said. She noticed that Kelly was staring at a tapestry of one of Mewni's past Queens. Higgs looked towards the plaque … 'Queen of Darkness? She must have pissed somebody off to be called that.' she thought.

She directed her attention back at Kelly, who had begun to walk ahead without her. "Kelly, are you even listening to me?! You attacked _the Queen_ , that's going to have _serious_ consequences and-" "Higgs, can you just _shut up_? I'm _trying_ to think of how to convince Marco to leave this place. He isn't safe here, especially not with _her_." Kelly said with a venomous tone.

*sigh* "Fine, you do that. I'm sure _that_ isn't going to _blow up_ in your face. Hey Janna, can you take my _thick-headed_ _friend_ to Marco's room?" Higgs said. Janna looked at me over her shoulder and nodded. I began to head down a different corridor which was near the stairs. "Hey, where are you going Higgs?," she didn't answer, "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you okay? I'm just really stressed over all of _this_. I'm sorry." Kelly said. Higgs kept walking, but turned around to her green haired friend once she reached the spiraling stairs. "It's alright Kelly, really. As for where I'm going," she glanced upwards, "well, I need to go see what's taking Marco so long." Kelly cringed at hearing Marco's name. "Ma-Maybe I should go with-" but was interrupted by Higgs shaking her head. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to see Marco right now. He seemed pissed, and I've only ever seen him like that… well, never. So, just go and wait in his room okay? I'll try to soften to blow for you" Higgs winked, which made Kelly smile. "Thanks Higgs, I owe you one." she said. This caused the auburn haired girl to scoff at her friends statement. "Doesn't everyone?" she joked.

She turned towards the stairs and began the ascend.

Higgs wasn't lost, but she wasn't exactly sure of were she was. She was using Marco's smell as a guide. Yes. She had a strong sense of smell, and knew Marco's _very_ well. It was he who helped her polish the unique trait she apparently had since childhood, much to her embarrassment. His smell was earthy, kind of how dirt smells after a rain has passed, mixed with … _raw power_? 'Does raw power even have a smell?' she thought.

As she continued to walk through the halls, the smell seemed to have vanished instantly but returned a few seconds after. She _knew_ where Marco was now. She had used this method earlier today to pinpoint where he was on their way to the castle, but Kelly didn't need to know that. She found it odd that Marco tends to 'vanish' and 'appear' in other places soon after. His scent has confirmed her theories multiple times, the most recent ones being the clearest.

Higgs ran down the hallway until she saw an open door up ahead. She stopped and began to slow walk when a strong scent of something burning, rage or was it arousal?, along with sweat penetrated her nostrils. Higgs could identify the sweat to be Marco's for … _reasons_ and knew that the rage as well as arousal probably belonged to the Queen. She hoped she was wrong about the latter smell. The smell of cinders, however, made her tense up, which caused her to become very cautious. 'Marco might be in danger, so I better be careful and sneak towards them' she thought, but soon relaxed when the scent vanished.

As she got closer to the door, she began to hear two people talking, most likely Marco and the Queen. She decided to stop sneaking around, since the threat was gone, and peeked inside once she got to the door. Higgs was not prepared to see what stood in front of her. It was Marco, _shirtless_ and _toned_. Her face began to feel very hot, and the fact that Marco had his lean but muscular back towards her made the heat worse. Who knew she would get to see Marco shirtless not once but _twice_. Memories of the time he walked in on her in the baths back at the guild, both completely bare to the other, flooded her thoughts. She didn't talk to Marco for weeks after that because of how embarrassed she was.

"Darn, Marco, I was getting to the good part." Star said.

"What good part Star? Does it involve the _plan_ I overheard about?" Marco said.

'Wait. What's this about a _plan_?' Higgs's thought.

"Oh, no-no-nothing. D-Don't worry about it Marco. It's nothing." Star replied.

'Oh no, I need to know about this plan, _especially_ if it involves Marco.' Higgs's thought.

She cleared her throat, gaining both of their attention. ' _Oh sweet corn._ _Since when has he had abs!_ ' She tried to refocus on asking about the plan, a little upset she had to look away from Marco's body.

"No Star, tell us. What is this _plan_ you speak of?" Higgs said.

Marco walked over to Higgs and placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to feel hot at his touch.

"You may want to sit down for this. It's going to be _a lot_ of information." he turned to the Queen, "That I would _personally_ love to tell you _all_ about." Marco said playfully.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Higgs thought as Marco guided her inside, closing the door behind her.

 **A/N** **: What's this plan about? O.o You'll find out in the next chapter, maybe. I hope you all picked up on some of my hints, if not, well to bad. *laughs maniacally* But in all seriousness, I would love to hear some feedback on this, especially on the somewhat short third person narrative. Hopefully it didn't make the chapter confusing with the way I changed somethings. Once again, feedback is** _ **really**_ **appreciated. Also, thanks again from the bottom of my heart for all of the support and would like to shout out LaMistikov for that extensive review. It motivated me to push this chapter out sooner than intended and allows me to reflect on what it is I'm doing, which I love doing! More than I should now that I think about it … anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and until next time. See ya.**


	6. Confessions

**A/N** **: Hello everybody! This chapter is going to be, well, you'll see. Something major might happen *wink wink*. There's not much else to say besides thank you for the continued support and feedback. I'm going to try to do this chapter in third person, to the best of my ability. I like how more detailed I can be by doing so. I will be showing the villains side soon, not in this chapter but soon. Well, here's the new chapter, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

The room was uncomfortably silent for Higgs. Not only was she in front of a dead serious Marco, who was now clothed, but also a very pissed off magical being, the Queen. She could smell and sense the rage coming off of her in buckets, but from Marco … she smelled nothing, confirming her previous assessments on the two. Marco cleared his throat and got off the bed all three of them were sitting on. He looked at Star and then at Higgs, a small smile growing on his lips. "So should I start or would you like to go first Star?" Marco said. Star sighed and got off the bed, looking out the window and giving her back to the two. "You go first. I'll add whatever it is you miss, which I'm sure isn't much." Star replied.

Marco nodded and sat back down next to Higgs. "Alright Higgs, here's the deal. Whatever is said in this room _stays in this room_." Higgs nodded, "Good, so don't tell Kelly anything. I don't want to involve her in this mess. Now, about this plan… well, it's a plan to defeat Toffee." Marco said flatly. Higgs's eyes grew with worry, "Marco… _you_ _can't_ _be involved with him_. He has _single handedly_ taken on the MHC, some of the strongest beings ever known, and come out of it practically _unscathed_ , not to mention what happened to the previous Queen… You _can't_ be involved in this Marco. _**Please**_ **.** " Higgs pleaded.

Marco sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "I know all of that already Higgs. I _won't_ get involved with Toffee. He's too strong. Which leads me to the plan that her majesty and Hekapoo devised." Marco turned to Higgs and smiled. "You weren't wrong about me being involved. In fact, I'm the most crucial piece. Isn't that right Star?" Marco asked.

Star remained still for a few minutes, and then turned to face them. She looked both conflicted

and uneasy. "Yes. You're correct Marco. The reason I needed you to come here, with me,

was for you and I…" she scoffed, "to have… _intercourse_." Star said bluntly. Higgs's eyes almost flew out of her head from the shock in hearing Star's statement. "After I was confirmed to be pregnant, my mom would then take me into her dimension where time runs _a lot_ faster. Our child would then be trained by Marco and me until he was at least fourteen. He would join both of us in fighting Toffee and win." Star said, and then sat on one of her royal chairs in the room, drained.

Higgs couldn't believe what she had just heard. 'This plan is _absurd_ ' she thought. Marco, almost as if reading her internal turmoil, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Higgs, the plan would have only worked if I agreed to it, which _I would never agree to_. Star and Hekapoo knew this so they were going to use Kelly against me… by kidnapping her." Marco's face hardened and turned to the now nervous Queen. "BUT their plan changed the moment you and Kelly showed up. It now made it near impossible to use her as blackmail since I was near her. Which was the real reason Hekapoo came here in the first place, but didn't get the chance to bring it up since I showed up. She always did have a _noticeabl_ e amount of energy when she appeared." Marco chuckled. "Besides, I'm nothing special."

To say Star looked nervous and confused now, was an understatement. She was starting to sweat and couldn't seem to shake the dryness in her throat. "I-I-I h-have n-no idea… what you are talking about." Star finally said. Marco chuckled and shook his head, "There's no need to feign ignorance Star. I wasn't just waiting around for Kelly and Higgs to come to me. I used some of that time to look through some things… like your diary. I'm not proud for snooping into a girls room and reading her personal things, but you really should be more careful with sensitive things like that. What if it _fell_ into the wrong hands?" Marco sighed and shook his head, "I almost believed you, you know, but you seemed to be hiding more than what you told me in the carriage. At first, I suspected that the whole ambush thing was a setup, but realized that it was too sloppy to be one." he said coldly.

He stood up and walked to the trembling Queen. "Relax Star. I'm not going to hurt you. I understand that you're desperate so I won't hold it against you… I'm still going to help you-"

Higgs shot out of her seat, gritting her teeth with rage. " **ARE YOU INSANE!**... _Marco_ she just tried to _lie, cheat, blackmail_ , and _use you_ for _her_ benefit so **WHY** in the _fuck_ would you still help her? WHY?!" Higgs yelled.

Marco walked up to Higgs and flicked her forehead, causing her to rub the impacted spot. "You need to relax, too, _gingerbread_." She looked at him with annoyance, "I know you hate that nickname, but you deserved it. Now, _please understan_ d that I _can't_ turn my back on those who need me Higgs. You should know that about me by now. No matter the dangers or consequences that may befall me, I can't allow myself to see people get hurt when I could have done something to prevent their pain." he said. Higgs scoffed and shook her head. "You're an idiot Marco, but I can't stop you. The only one capable of that isn't in this room so… I will support whatever you decide. That's what best friends are for, right?" she said with a smile.

Marco smiled back and hugged her. He was glad that she still considered him a friend after hearing all that.

He broke the hug and glanced over at Star. "Star, the reason I wouldn't have agreed to your plan is because you don't want to have kids, at least not while Toffee is around, correct?" Star's eyes went-wide eyed, causing Marco to laugh. "Star, look so surprised. The reason I know this is because of what you told me in the carriage. You aren't interested in marriage or anything like that, at least not at the moment. You're too busy. I also know that you were only going to go through with this plan because it was the most logical way for you to defeat Toffee with the least amount of casualties. You were willing to sacrifice yourself, your purity, in order to save your kingdom. That's very selfless of you Star, and you have won my respect. That's also another reason why I hadn't messed with you, even though I knew of your plan." he said jokingly.

Star couldn't believe her ears. Someone _finally_ understood who she was and wanted, unlike the royals or her cabinet of idiots, and _respected her choice_. Not even the people closest to her knew how she truly felt about being somewhat forced into parenthood, but Marco had figured her out in a single conversation about a day ago. She could have always said no and came up with another plan with her stepmom but… she didn't want to see her people suffer anymore. She knew what it felt like to lose loved ones to the war, and didn't want anyone to go through that experience. Ever. Again. No matter the cost.

She collapsed to the ground on her knees, tears flowing out of her eyes, and just stared at Marco. The person she was about to blackmail. Use. _Manipulate_. That red hooded boy, no, _man_ , knew _everything_ and instead of unraveling her entire world, he chose to stay and help her. He truly was her knight and savior and she… she felt horrible.

 _Dirty._

She saw him kneel down in front of her and wipe a few tears with his thumbs. This brought her out of her daze and couldn't help but cry harder when she saw the tender look Marco was giving her. "I-I-I'm s-s-so-sorry Ma-Marc-o. I-I r-real-ly a-am. _For-give m-me, ple-please._ " Star cried as she clinged to him. "Hey, it's okay. I forgive you Star. It's water under the bridge." He replied as he combed her hair with his hand, trying to comfort her.

"B-But I-" He shushed her with his other hand by putting his finger on her lips. "It's alright Star. It's time you allowed others to help you carry your burdens. As luck would have it, you have two people in this room that are willing to do just that." Marco laughed. Star glanced at the two and felt tears rushing to escape, but succeeded in holding them at bay. She smiled and rose from the floor, with Marco's help, and bowed at her new friends. "Th-thank you. I promise to ask for help whenever I may need it and to trust others more, especially my friends." she said as she rose her head, a small smile on her lips.

"Wow. I thought I would never see the day that royalty, especially an all powerful magical Queen, would bow to a commoner." Higgs said sarcastically with a smile. Marco crossed his arms and chuckled, "You get used to it.." he said. The two girls looked at him with confusion, Marco cleared his throat, " _Anyway_ , I think you should come up with a way to apologize to Kelly because you're going to need all the help you can get with that. Trust me. Lucky for you, Higgs is amazing when it comes to that so you two should have a sleepover or something and talk, while I go talk to Kelly. Alone… but first I need to make a quick stop. Wish me luck." Marco said and before the girls could say anything, he was gone in a bright flash.

Once the room returned to it's normal lighting, both girls looked at each other and began to laugh. "So are those two in a relationship or not?" Star asked as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Higgs did the same, "Well, no, but they seem like it huh? Kelly's the reason girls from the guilds don't approach Marco because they know she has 'claimed' him. When I asked her what that was about she said it was _tradition_ , whatever that means." she laughed. Star laughed with her but stopped abruptly. "Wait! How am I going to tell my mom!? She isn't going to be happy-" Higgs waved her off, "Don't worry about that Star. If there's something you need to know about Marco is that he tends to take care of people's problems before they even turn into problems." she chuckled. Star immediately relaxed, somehow trusting Higgs statement about Marco. He has shown her how caring and considerate he is to those in need. He was a true gentleman in her eyes, a rare jewel among men. Star's heart began to beat faster, cheeks blushing, and began to feel awkward. 'Oh no!' she thought.

"I think I just fell in love with Marco!" Star abruptly yelled and turned to see Higgs laughing. She put her arm around Star's shoulder and leaned in. "Welcome to the club." she whispered.

Marco entered his room through a black portal and liked at what he saw. The room looked empty, except for a bed, a couch, one window, and a few cabinets. It was perfect, for him. He had to thank Janna some time for being able to change the room from something snobby, no offense to Star, to his room back at home. While he was admiring the room, he failed to notice that there was someone else in the room with him.

He fells to the ground when someone collided against him from behind, wrapping their arms around his neck. _Squeezing_. He tries to pry their arms from the hold, but can't seem to be able to. The only person who was stronger than him physically was…

" _Get off of me!_ " he wheezed. Marco felt the hold tighten, making his vision blurry from the lack of oxygen. "Sorry Marco, but this is the only way that I can get you to come with me since I know how stubborn you can be." Marco couldn't think straight… he was beginning to lose consciousness. "That's it Marco. Let me take you somewhere safe, so just give in to-" the assaulter was suddenly thrown into the air and, before their body met the ground, landed on their feet by using some impressive acrobatics. "You're starting to make me _angry Marco_. _SUBMIT,_ " the person growls and rushes Marco, appearing next to him almost instantly. Marco tries to get off the ground but, before he can stand up, is kicked in the ribs. "Marco, please…" the person began to plead. After several deep breaths, Marco looks up at the individual, with a smirk, and begins to chuckle slowly. "You were always bad with using your words, Kells." he said. He tries to get up, again, but is met with another kick. However, this time, he caught the strike. "You are also very predictable," he said with smile, "so stop this. It's not worth it." Kelly looks at Marco for a few seconds, until she winds up another kick. He sighs, blocks, and pins Kelly to the floor. "Kelly… stop. There's something I need to tell you." She looks at him with a blank expression, but with noticeable tears beginning to form. Marco stands up and offers Kelly his hand. She takes it, but doesn't let go, and keeps her head down. "Kelly… you need to leave. Go back to the guild and don't come back." Marco says in a serious tone. The two just stand there for what seems like an eternity, until Kelly looks up. Marco closes his eyes, not wanting to see her looking so broken, as a tear rolls down his face. "Marco… look at me." she says with a shaky voice. Reluctantly, he opens his now watery eyes, meeting hers. "I would rather _die_ than leave you here, Marco," she pulls out her greatsword and pushes it to his chest, "so, if you want me to leave, you're going to have to kill me." she finishes, looking at him with a blank stare. Marco takes the greatsword and throws it across the room, embedding it into the wall. "Kelly, you need to leave." he said again. The green haired girl looks at where her sword was and frowns. " _Why_? Give me one good reason _why_." she demands. Marco shakes his head, contemplating, "Kelly, we've known each other for years, which is why I'm going to come clean and tell you about my past… hopefully it'll convince you to leave." He sighs and places his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes "I… I'm not… _normal_ , Kelly. I'm… an experiment. That day you found me in the forest, I had managed to escape from the place that was experimenting with… children. However, I found out that I was _special_. I don't know why, but I knew I was different from the others since my sessions were much more intense and… _unique_. I met a girl during my time there, and we became friends, but one day she was just gone. I asked the other children if they knew where she was, but no one knew anything. Several days later I found her clothes… with blood stains… in a pile of trash... All I remember about her was a unique mark, a spiral, on her neck that she showed me once. After I found her clothes, I vowed to never let a friend get hurt on my watch ever again and decided to escape. That night, I used the ability that I showed you and managed to leave the area, but they noticed. They sent hellhounds after me, and messed me up pretty bad… I barely managed to escape from my cell, thanks to the abilities I acquired from that _hell_ , which is why you found me the way you did… I don't remember anything else." For a few seconds, the room is silent. Kelly leans her head onto his hand, and smiles at him. "Marco, I don't care how different you are…," she places her hand on his cheek. "and nothing you say can change the way I feel or think about you. I can also take care of myself, so don't worry." Marco moves his hand to cup Kelly's cheek and smiles. "Thanks, I knew telling you about my past wouldn't change anything so I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but you still have to go Kelly. I don't want you involved in all of this." Marco says. Kelly pinches his cheek hard and let's go. "I don't care what you're involved in, Marco. I'm not going anywhere without you. You already know what you have to do if you want me to leave." she says with a smile.

Marco sighs and crosses his arms, "You could _die_ if you stay with me. I can't risk that Kells… because if you die I… I'll go insane." he says with dark tone. "You're the reason I was able to move on from my past and the nightmares that came with it because of how much time you put into making me feel better, so _please_ _go_." he pleads. Kelly embraces him and shakes her head into his chest. "No," she says sternly, "especially if what you're involved with makes you _this_ worried." she adds.

The room is once again silent for a few seconds, except for the howling wind outside. "Marco?" he hums in response, "I, uh… I, hmm… I-I love you." she says timidly. She feels his body tense up, fearing the worst. She looks up at his face, slowly, and is met with a grin. "What?" He scoffs, "Kells, why do you think I've been trying _so hard_ to get you to leave? Because… I… love you too." She wanted to faint after hearing those words. 'He loves me too!? WHY?!' she thought. "Y-Y-You d-do? S-Since w-when?" she stammers, face feeling _extremely_ hot at the moment. "Hmm, well, since I first laid my eyes on you when I woke up in the guild, after you got me out of the forest. Did you think that I let you sleep in _my room_ since day one because you were my best friend? Higgs qualifies if that's the case," she punches his arm, "OWWW it was a joke! Owww, I think it's bruising…"

She begins to laugh, but stops when Marco's face turns serious. "Since you're too stubborn to leave, we're going to have to do a little magical contract that I learned during Hekapoo's Trials, for _insurance_. Give me your hand." She looks at him questioningly, but gives her hand up. "So, basically, how it works is that the two individuals bounded through this contract will be able to know their exact location at all times, no matter the distance. We're going to have to drink each others blood in order for it to work. Do you accept these terms?" She looks at him and smiles. ' _Is he seriously giving me the ability to track him? He does love me_ …' she blushes at the thought, and nods. Marco takes out a dagger, giving both their palms a small cut across the middle. He gives Kelly his hand. They both begin to suck on the blood from their palms, causing Kelly to get light headed. ' _This kind of feels good_ …' she thought. On the other hand, Marco felt a warm feeling spreading through his body as soon as the blood passed his lips.

It was done.

They part their lips from each other and stand there for a couple seconds, awkwardly. "Sooooo, that was _interesting_." Kelly says nervously, receiving a smile from Marco. "Yea, it was. Now comes the hard part, for me, explaining the situation between Star and me…" Kelly frowns and starts to head toward her greatsword. "Kelly, wait. Let me explain... Don't point the sword at me… Kelly!" he ducks under her swing. "Stop running Marco!" she chases after him. "It's a front!" he yells, stopping Kelly mid-swing. "What do you mean 'just a front'?" she asks confused, lowering her weapon. Marco sighs in relief, "The whole 'engaged' thing is a front between Star and me to keep people off her back about marriage, so she can concentrate on the war against Toffee, which I may or may not fight." he says with a smile. Kelly rolls her eyes at him, with a smile, and stands down. "Fine. But tell her _you're mine_ , so she won't-" she stops when Marco raises his finger at her. "I know how much you're going to _hate_ this, and so am I, but let's keep our relationship between us a secret, Kells, at least until we regain some breathing room back from the enemy." He smiles, "which won't take long so be patient until then, okay? I don't want to risk the enemy knowing what _my_ weakness is before I know theirs." he finishes with a wink. This made Kelly's face flare up, allowing her to only nod in response. He smiles and kisses the top of her head. "So we belong to each other now?" she asks with a blush, causing Marco to get a little red himself. He leans in and whispers 'yes' into her ear, making her legs almost give out from under her. Marco notices this and grins, happy for causing her to react that way. He picks Kelly up, bridal style, much to her surprise and delight. "We should get some sleep, _my lady_." he says with a grin. Kelly was close to passing out from embarrassment, since she wasn't used to Marco flirting. She was usually the one who did the flirting, but didn't mind this side of Marco _one bit._

He places her on the bed and was about to head to the couch, when Kelly's hold on his arm stops him. "Where do you think _you're_ going~?" she asks with a grin. He smiles, "Kelly, as much as I would love to sleep in the same bed as you, I don't want to risk someone coming in on us and seeing us together, _not yet anyway_." he winks. She was blushing _hard._ 'Since when was he good at flirting!?' she thought. She falls onto the bed and looks up at him pleadingly. " _Please_ , only for a little while." she says with puppy eyes. Marco sighs in defeat, and lays down next to her, Kelly instantly laying half of her upper body on him. "Marco, can you lean your head down a little?" He shrugs, "Sure but why-" he stops mid-sentence due to Kelly's lips connecting with his. She could feel his warmth through the kiss, making her melt into him. The kiss, as well as her body pressing into his, was making Marco warm too. 'She certainly has grown into a beautiful woman...' he thought. Kelly was the first to pull back, grinning at him through half lidded eyes. "We don't need to pretend when we're _alone_ , _riiigghht?_." she says seductively. He grins at her and they both lay back down, with Kelly still on him.

A few minutes pass in blissful silence, enjoying each others presence, until Kelly's head shoots up abruptly. "MARCO! I almost forgot to tell you happy birthday, so happy birthday!" she says with a grin. Marco smiles and pats her head, "Thanks." He feels Kelly move up on his body, much to his enjoyment, and lean in to the side of his face. " _I'll give you your present in the morning~_ " she says seductively, causing Marco to suddenly open his eyes.

'There goes my desire to sleep' he groaned.

It was going to be a _long_ night.

 **A/N: Some Kelco being thrown at you o.o hopefully it was nice. I hope this chapter shed some light on a few things, and of the direction of this story. Some feedback on whether I should keep going with this POV or if I should go back to each character's own POVs would be** _ **deeply appreciated**_ **. If I go back to each separate POV then the updates will take a little longer since I'm going to have to change a few things around, for the better. Thanks again for all the support, and catch you all next time, depending on how badly I get sucked into the World Cup…**


	7. Moons

**A/N** **: Hello everybody! Sorry for the long wait to get this chapter out. I've been preoccupied with some stuff so I couldn't work on the chapter during that time. Maybe the chapter's interesting development makes up for it. By the way, I will continue to try different things with my writing so hopefully that doesn't get annoying. As always, thanks again for all the support and feedback on this story, it truly means a lot! Enjoy!**

 _ **P.S**_ **: I'm going to try to start describing the characters appearances a bit** **more since I know I've been lacking in that department, as well as others, but one thing at a time lol.**

 **Guest** **: Thanks for the kind words and no, I won't be abandoning this story so rest easy lol.**

 **Lerans** **: I did mix POVs in this chapter so hopefully that was enjoyable. As for why Marco rushed his background, well, you'll see why in the coming chapters. Also, keep in mind that he doesn't like to worry Kelly, and may even** _ **lie**_ **to keep it that way. And yea Marco is very unlucky sometimes lol.**

 **Useful76** **: Thanks for liking Kelco! There will be more to come in the near future so keep a lookout. However, there will be situations that test that. Will Kelco endure? o.o**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

 _(Deep in the Forest of Certain Death)_

The air was cold and heavy.

The silence that surrounded the clearing was almost maddening but it didn't bother the inhabitants of the tents on said clearing. All the tents were dark inside, as the moonlight from both moons, somehow, was the only light shining on the clearing through the dense trees. The only tent, which was also the biggest, with light was the one in the middle. The flickering of the candle lights were able to barely show two silhouettes sitting near each other.

Inside was the one in charge of the monster revolution and war against Mewni, Toffee. Across the armor wearing lizard was a beautiful mewman woman with pale skin, short teal hair up into a braid, mauve eyes, and red spade-shaped marks on her cheeks. She was wearing a dark purple Gothic-themed dress with light purple gloves and…

She didn't look happy.

"What are we going to do about this dear?" she asked the immortal lizard. He sighed and leaned back into his chair, showing no expression on his face. "If the information that Ether told us regarding what happened at the ambush, which I still can't believe she managed to fail, then we must take caution and not tell _anyone_ about this so called 'bodyguard' of the Queen. Ether has already made the monsters present at the scene swear to silence on the matter." he said with a calm tone.

The woman did not look satisfied with his answer and sat up from her chair. "But dear, we _have_ to tell her. We both know what will happen if she found out on her own, so why not try to control the situation before it gets out of hand," she looked towards the entrance of the tent and smiled, "but, it seems she has already found out."

As if on queue, a girl wearing a dark blue wool tunic with a matching leather skirt and dark silver hair stumbled into the tent, much to the woman's and Toffee's delight. Once the girl straightened herself and looked at them, her other features were shown. She had light colored, almost non- existent, scales all over her pale body and face, kaleidoscope eyes, pointy ears and a lizard tail that almost touched the floor. She also had red crescent moon marks on her cheeks. Overall, she almost appeared to be a normal mewman girl.

Almost.

Toffee looked at the girl and a small smile escaped his cold appearance. "Luna, what have your mother and I told you about spying on people?" he asked the girl, who smiled back at her father. "To not get caught." she answered. Both Toffee and his wife smiled at their daughter. "That's correct Luna. You almost got away with it. _Almost_." the woman chuckled.

Luna rolled her eyes and shook her head at her mother with a smile. "Yes yes mother. So…," her expression dropped and looked at both of her parents with sad eyes, "is the information true?" Toffee frowned and stood up abruptly, making her daughter flinch and wife sigh. He put both of his arms behind his back and began to walk towards a map of Mewni hanging in the middle of the tent, giving his back to them.

After a few seconds of silence, he turned toward his daughter and stared at her with his cold reptilian yellow eyes. "Yes. The information is true so before you-" Luna dropped to her knees as if she were lifeless, "Huh? My legs gave out on me… I… I can't get up," she chuckled with tears in her eyes, "I-I can't…," she held back a sob, "b-believe he's… _alive_." Luna tried to hold back her sobs but couldn't stand the pain and feeling in her throat from doing so.

She began to cry and bent over onto the floor in front of her, hitting both of her scaly fists to the ground. Seeing her daughter in so much pain, the woman walked up to her and sat next to her daughter. She put her hand on Luna's head and began to pet her, to console her. "Luna, sweetie, look at me." she said with a sad tone. Luna shook her head against the floor and hit her fists to the floor again, causing her father to get angry. He walked up to them and kneeled down.

"Stop this Luna," he said in a serious tone, "we don't even know if this individual is your friend from back then… his body was never found when we went to that _horrible_ place after you escaped. All we found was that pendant you claim to be his." he ended with a flat tone.

Luna looked at her father with red puffy eyes and rose slowly, until she was sitting on her knees. "We became friends when a few of the other children were harassing me because of how I looked…. because I was a hybrid." Both of her parents frowned as soon as they heard that connotative word. "They were kicking me while I was on the ground, crying out for help… but no one came," she smiled sadly, "until _he_ showed up and came to my rescue. He stopped them off all by himself and, after that, helped me up. He took me to my room and dressed my wounds, even though he looked like he had just rolled down a mountain." she chuckled. "After that, he told me I was… cute, placed his hand over his heart, and promised to always be my friend no matter what."

Luna pulled out a pendant out of her tunic. In her hand was a small wooden clover with a sun symbol in the middle. "H-He worked on this pendant every night before he went to sleep, because he thought he was very unlucky. I would know, since I would sneak out of my room to watch him. I wasn't very good when it came to making things so watching… Marco," a lone tear rolled down her face from the pain of saying her friends name after what seemed like such an eternity, "work on it calmed me down. It made the months there bearable…" Another tear rolled down her face and smiled, looking at the floor with an unfocused gaze.

"The reason I was able to escape was because of him you know," both her parents went wide-eyed from hearing this new piece of information from their daughter, "he planned the whole thing in fact. *sniffle* That night, after my last experiment, which they gave every child before they… he carried me out of bed since I was in no shape to be walking and said we were escaping. He told me we were going to leave and _promised_ we would always be together," she clenched her fists around the pendants string, "… once the alarms went off, he put me against the fence and handed me the pendant and told me good luck. The dogs found us seconds after… He looked at me, smiled, and said, 'Later, swirly.' That… was the nickname he gave me after I showed him my birthmark on my neck…" Another tear rolled down her tear stained face. "Everything went white after that. Next thing I knew, I was laying on the snowy ground and dad found me not long after with the search party." She looked at her father who now had a tear running down his emotionless face, probably remembering that horrid day. Her mother wasn't doing any better.

"He _promised_ _me_ that we would _always_ be friends and Marco _never_ goes back on his promises. Never. So he can't be dead. He **can't**." Luna felt her parents hug her, and began to relax a little. The woman looked at her husband and gave him a look that told him to choose his next words very carefully, sending a shiver down his spine. He sighed and stood up, wiping away a few extra tears. "Alright Eclipsa. You win, so stop staring at me like that." His wife grinned and stood up with her daughter. Luna looked at both her parents in confusion, clearly missing the unspoken words that both her parents had communicated between themselves.

"Sweetie, before we discuss a plan on how to get you to your _boyfriend_ ," Luna blushed, while Toffee frowned as he got up, causing Eclipsa to chuckle, "you need to understand that people change over time. So prepare yourself if he doesn't remember you right away or at _all_. It has been about a decade since you two last saw each other after all, and I'm sure that boy has been through… _thing_ s." Luna nodded at her mother's words and turned to her father to see if he had anything else to add. "Luna, be careful. He seems to be in some sort of arrangement with the Queen, so you two may not see eye-to-eye," his yellow eyes began to glow, "and if he even _dares_ to _hurt you_ I'll-" Eclipsa smacked the back of his head, quickly silencing him. "Don't pay your father any mind Luna, but the threat still stands." she said with a cold and dark smile, making both of their scaly skin crawl.

Luna put a hand on both of her parents and gave them a small smile. "I know you both care for me very much but you don't have to worry about Marco hurting me. He's very sweet, plus, what Ether said only confirmed that Marco doesn't like the concept of hurting others, if he can avoid it. He even tried to let them go! Marco could have easily hurt Ether and the rest of the troops, or _worse_ if he truly wanted to, but he's too nice. That hasn't changed…," Luna's eyes became glazed over, she got a goofy smile, and her lizard tail began to wag. This deeply concerned Toffee, or any dad, to no end and was about to call off the idea of them seeing each other but was stopped on his tracks when Eclipsa put her hand on his shoulder, making him look down to her. She gave him a reassuring smile, calming him down a little.

*sigh* "Alright, so how are we going to get our daughter to meet this boy, which I want to meet too and give him my gratitude for rescuing her from those experimental camps." he said calmly. Eclipsa and Luna looked at each other and smiled. "Well, in that case, I would like to meet him too, but he can't tell anyone about how I'm still **alive** or how I'm married to Toffee and have a daughter… Luna, can Marco keep secrets?" she asked her daughter. Luna looked at the pendant and then back at her parents. "If I get him to promise me that he will, then yes." she said with a small smile. Eclipsa noticed the change of color in her daughter's eyes, to a dark blue, meaning she was nervous. She moved closer to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be nervous sweety. Marco seems to be an outstanding gentleman, from what you've and Ether told us. He also seems to be very good in combat… He would certainly make a fine choice for a husband for our daughter. Isn't that right dear?" she asked. Toffee growled at her, causing her to chuckle. "Oh lighten up, I was only joking… somewhat. So I got an idea that will save ourselves from a headache and unnecessary fighting. Yes, I'm referring to you Luna," her daughter looked down, a little ashamed at her mother's truthful words, "The idea is for him to come to us. That's where you come in dear." she gestured to Toffee, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"You want me to lure him out?" he asked. Eclipsa sighed and shook her head. "This is why _I_ run the diplomacy part of our operations my dear. You are going to request for Marco to be escorted here, by Luna-" she was stopped by Toffee. "That's a terrible idea! What if he-" he was silenced by his wife's glare. " _Let me finish_ ** _dear_**. Now where was I? Oh yes. Luna, you will escort Marco here after he accepts an offer he can't refuse, while undercover, and ask him questions of your choosing to see if he is trustworthy. Who knows, maybe he can help us end this war with little bloodshed from both sides." she smiled at her daughter, but soon changed her expression into a dead serious one. "However, if he _isn't_ trustworthy and tries any funny business then I will deal with him, since I know you don't have the heart to hurt him." she said in a cold tone. Luna looked at her mother with shock, ' _please_ have an open mind Marco. _Please._ ' she thought.

Toffee sensed her daughter's distress so he moved in between them, facing his daughter. "There will be no need to go to such extremes so don't worry sweetheart. _I'll_ make sure of it." he said, being rewarded by his daughter's smile that always seemed to end all his worries. "Thanks dad, but mom's right, on the _caution_ part. You were the one who taught me to be cautious of new situations, and this one certainly is new to me, sort of." Luna chuckled. Her father nodded and turned to his wife, "So when do we start this plan?" he asked. Eclipsa leaned to the side to look at her daughter and gave her an apologetic smile. Luna smiled back, forgiving her mother for being over protective, "We start the plan as soon as the whole camp is awake, which is in a few hours. The question is: who is going to deliver the message to the castle and what are we going to offer to convince him to come?" Eclipsa asked Toffee. He smirked at his wife, "you can leave that part to me. Luna, fetch me Bulgolyubov." His daughter stared at him with a confused look, making him sigh, "also known as Buff Frog." he said. Luna ooohhhed and ran out of the tent.

His wife yawned and went to sit back down on her comfy chair, looking drowsy. He looked at her somewhat tenderly, "get some rest. I'll join you in a bit, after I take care of some preparations for our guest." He left the tent and headed into the pitch black forest.

The moons above now had a red tint to them, encasing the clearing in its alluring glow.

 ***** flashback: 10 ½ years ago/Experimental Concentration Camps *****

' _I deserved this.'_

' _I deserved to be in this horrible place for the things I have done… the sins I had committed.'_

 _I looked up to the sky. It was snowing and the snow between my toes felt soft, but I didn't feel cold. Not anymore. I had the bruised needle marks all over my body to thank for that._

 _I heard a loud *whack* followed by crying. My curiosity got the better of me so I looked out to the courtyard and saw a bunch of kids huddling around something. They were yelling at something, then I noticed that the source of the crying was coming from whatever it was they were hurting. Those were cries of pain after all. I should know._

 _As the yelling, hitting, and crying continued, I started to feel something at the pit of my stomach. It was disgust._

 _I got up and made my way to the crowd that had formed around what I assumed to be a wounded child. I pushed to the front and saw the child that was crying and I felt my hands curl into fists._

 _There, on the ground, was the body of a girl covered in bruises, cuts, and blood._

" _Take *whack* that *whack* you nasty half-breed!" yelled the kid near the broken girl, followed by cheers of approval from the rest of the crowd._

 _I moved behind the kid and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, looked down at me, and there it was._

 _His eyes were glazed over, probably high on the feeling of power._

 _It was sad._

" _You should stop this, before you get hurt." I told the older kid. He smiled at me, maniacally, and turned his whole body to face me._

" _It seems we have a hybrid loving foreigner among us. Is that what you are? A hybrid lover?," the rest of the crowd began to laugh at his remark. I looked him dead in the eyes and then down to the girl. We made eye contact and I saw absolute fear and pain in hers. What she did next made my heart ache, something I forgot I had… She smiled at me… in such a broken state._

" _This is your last warning,_ _ **pal**_ _. Leave her alone or_ _ **else**_ _." I told the ringleader. The crowd went silent for a few seconds, until it erupted into laughter. "Ahahah do you know who I am? I happen to have the strongest powers here," he nodded to the crowd, which began to surround me, "and those powers involve turning your brain to mush. Hold him down!" I allowed the crowd of kids to jump, punch, kick, grab, and pin me to the ground. The ringleader bent down to the girl and faced her to me. "This is what happens to hybrid lovers!" He slammed the girl into the ground and began to walk towards me._

 _My eyes never left the girls face, as she laid there looking at me with a half lidded eye, as if saying sorry to me. A single tear rolled down her bruised cheek and landed on the snow._

" _Any last words before you die?" he asked with a smirk. I looked up at him and shook my head. "This is your last warning." I said coldly._

 _He bent down and laughed in my face, "Ahaha you're an idiot!" He placed his hand on my head and it began to feel hot, giving me a headache. "Beg for your li-," he didn't get to finish the sentence as he instantly vanished, followed by silence._

 _I warned him._

 _They released me from their grip so I sat up. I looked towards the girl, who was looking at me with… gratitude?_

" _Where did he go?" one of the children asked to no one in particular. I then felt a hand on my_

 _shoulder so I looked at the owner, "What did you do?!" the crowd went silent once again. I rose_

 _from the ground, and headed towards the girl._

" _ **I**_ _gave him warnings, but he chose to ignore them so he paid the price. As for what I did," I looked up to the sky, "none of you have to worry about that. He'll be here soon."_

 _I lifted the girl and held her in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder and noticed a mark that looked like a swirl on her neck. Her shallow but warm breathing made the hairs on the back of my neck stand… She was actually really warm, despite being outside in cold with nothing but tattered clothes._

 _Interesting._

 _I felt her head shift closer to my ear and she whispered 'thank you.' For some reason, that made me really happy. Happy? I hadn't felt that since…_

" _Listen to me, all of you. You will stop harassing this girl from now on or what happened to your 'leader' will happen to you." I said coldly. They were about to protest when the sound of someone screaming forced them to look up, but not fast enough. A loud-wet-bone crunching sound echoed throughout the courtyard._

 _There, in front of all of us, laid a broken pile of red mush. Some of the children vomited, while others looked with horror._

 _It was the ringleader._

 _I felt something scaly hit the back of my foot. I looked down and noticed it was a lizard's tail, and that it was coming from the girl. 'That's what they meant by half-breed…'_

 _The girl shuddered, bringing me out of my thoughts. I had to get her somewhere warm and treat her wounds but no one was allowed to be inside during lunch time. Maybe if I blinked and got supplies…_

 _I began to walk towards the crowd, making them part a path for me. 'Hopefully I still have time before the adults catch on to my little_ ** _magic trick_** _.'_

 _Marco…_

 _MARCO…_

 _ **MARCO**_ _!_

 _(_ _Castle Butterfly_ _: Marco's Room-Morning)_

"MARCO!"

Marco opened his eyes slowly and was greeted by Kelly being on top of him, who was somewhat straddling him. The sunlight that was coming through the window made her hair and exposed caramel skin appear to shine. 'So _beautiful_ ' he thought.

He then noticed the look she was giving him was one of worry, and he knew why.

"Marco are you okay? You looked like you were having a bad dream… and what's this about a swirl?" she asked with concern. He just stared at Kelly's chest, which confused her, until she realized what was holding his attention. She smirked, "My eyes are up here Marco." His face turned a light shade of red and looked into her eyes with a smile. "Sorry about that, you just surprised me since you're *ahem* revealing _a lot_ of your figure with that loose tunic. It leaves little to the imagination." She moved her hips in a provocative manner, making Marco tense up, much to her delight. "I'll show you what's under all _these_ clothes _if_ you tell me what you were dreaming about," her face switched back to one of worry, "it looked like you were in pain."

Marco sighed and sat up, now face to face with Kelly. "I'll tell you soon Kells… Come on, let's get ready for the day since I have a feeling someone is going to barge through that door any second now and we aren't exactly decen-" the sound of the door opening cut him off.

"Guys, wake up. Star needs you two-," Higgs slammed the door shut, 'WHOA! I'M SORRY!"

Marco and Kelly chuckled, "See, told you. It's alright Higgs! We weren't- stop that Kelly- doing anything. Give us a sec to get ready, and we'll be right out." Marco got off the bed, with Kelly clinging to him with her legs wrapped around his waist, and headed to his cabinets for clothes. "Wow, you're really strong Marco. That leaves little to _my_ imagination on what you can do to me." she chuckled. Marco planted a kiss on top of her head and smiled. "You'll have to wait and see." he replied.

~ _five_ _minutes later_ ~

The door opened and out came Kelly in her usual attire: a white sweater with pink stripes, black shorts that went down to her knees, pink leather boots, and had her long hair in a single ponytail that reached the back of her ankles. Marco, on the other hand, wore a black dragon hide jacket with a red hood and a white shirt underneath, black pants and boots of an unknown material that were perfect for swift movement accompanied by a katana strapped to his side.

"Took you two long enough and sorry for barging in. I didn't mean to interrupt happy fun times."

Higgs said with a small smile. "It's alright Higgs. We weren't doing anything… yet." Kelly said with a wink, making Marco smile and Higgs do a puking gesture.

Higgs gestured for them to follow her. As they walked through the halls, it dawned on Marco that Higgs never told them what it was Star needed them for. "So what did Star need us for?" he asked his freckled friend.

"Well you're _the_ General of all the knights of Mewni and other military forces, so you need to be present at this war meeting. Star was going to tell you yesterday but she didn't want to bother you in the middle of the night. By the way, where did you go after you left Stars room? Was it to inform Hekapoo about Star's _condition_." she said. Marco caught on to what she was doing, and was grateful that she hadn't mentioned the plan in front of Kelly, especially now. "Yes, I paid her a visit… as well as others, and then I went to my room where I was _assaulted_ ," he glanced at Kelly who shied away from it, "and then got some rest." Higgs looked at Marco and then at Kelly, raising her eyebrow, "Is that _all_ that happened?" she asked.

Higgs's interrogation was cut short when they arrived in front of two very decorated massive doors. "So this is the place huh?" Marco asked as he looked at the doors in front of him. Higgs nodded and went to open the doors, but was met with surprise when they wouldn't budge.

"Huh? That's strange," she tried her luck again, "I don't remember them being this heavy when I opened them earlier to go get you two." After a few more tries, Kelly had enough. "Here, let me help you." she said and walked up to the massive doors. The two girls tried to push the doors, but were having difficulty, making Marco chuckle. He walked up to the two struggling girls, without them noticing, reached over, and tapped the door with his forefinger.

~ _Castle Butterfly: War Room_ ~

The doors burst open, causing the two girls to fall on the ground. Marco walked in and noticed that the room had an audience of about fifty knights, probably the elite, and in the middle of the room was a large round table littered with maps and paperwork. There were about six people who appeared to be generals, including Henry, who were seated around the table. Sitting at the head of the table was Star, who was wearing the same attire she wore when they first met days ago. She was smiling at Marco and even at Kelly when she stood up from the ground. 'Hopefully Star found a good way to apologize' the hooded boy thought.

"It's certainly nice for my _fiance_ and his friends to finally join us. You can come and sit besides

me Marco." she said nervously. Marco caught the nervousness in her tone but decided not to comment on it. He began to walk over to Star and, when he was just about to pass Kelly, he whispered 'I love you'. This caused the green haired girl's cheeks to turn a deep shade of red and was dragged by Higgs to whatever seats were available.

Once everyone was seated, except for the knights, Star motioned for the meeting to begin. Henry stood up, turned to Star, and took out a scroll. "*Ahem* It seems that Toffee's forces have stopped their advancements from the north and south this morning. They also appear to be holding their positions as we continue to watch their activities to see if anything changes. Your generals _highly_ suggest that we launch an aggressive attack to catch the enemy off guard." He closed the scroll, and opened another one. "The recent census of our forces show that we are down to less than five thousand troops and five hundred knights, while the enemy is close to amassing ten thousand soldiers..." Henry finished and sat down.

Star put her hands together and leaned forward to rest her chin on them. "Hmmm, what do you think we should do Marco?" she asked her commanding general and right hand man. Marco looked over to his friends, who gave him a thumbs up in the sea of knights, making him smile.

He stood up and put his hands behind his back.

"Listen up, generals and Knights of Mewni, as decreed by your Queen, Star Butterfly, _I_ am your general now. And from this day forward, you will all address me as… General Sol." Marco said with a loud booming voice. The knights, some of which he recognized to be from the ambush, hit their spears once on the ground in approval. He smiled at their action, "As for what actions should be done regarding the opposition," he chuckled, "I think we should do nothing and continue to observe, since doing what you, generals, advised will lead to unnecessary deaths." he finished with a smile.

All of the generals, except for Henry, stood up from the table and began to protest.

"You can't be serious!"

"We need to make our move!"

"He's mad if he thinks that we should do nothing!"

Marco began to laugh, silencing the bickering generals, and stuck out his hand to them. A blue flame, in the shape of a small Sun, emerged and danced above his palm, rapidly warming the room. "Genius lives only one story above madness…," he closed his palm, extinguishing the flame, "so there's no reason to rush things. It's rather rude to attack someone who isn't looking for a fight, in my opinion."

Suddenly, Marco sensed something moving towards them at an incredible speed and sighed. An object flew threw the window, shattering it, causing Star to turn towards the sound. Before the object could hit Star, Marco moved in front of her and managed to catch it with his bare hand.

It was an arrow imbued with magic and there was a piece of paper attached to it. Marco opened it and read it in his head:

' _Dear Queen,_

 _I seek the audience of your 'bodyguard' and are willing to go into a month long truce if you agree, meaning that there will be no military activity on both of our sides. If this demand is not met, I will kill and burn down everything on my way to Castle Butterfly. I know that you don't have the resources to fight back so I sincerely hope that you deeply consider this offer.'_

 _P.S.: 'If you agree, he is to meet someone near one of my camps by the Hill of Flags. He_ _ **must**_ _come_ ** _alone_** _.'_

 _-Toffee_

Marco folded the paper in half and handed it to a shaken Star. "MARCO! WHAT'S GOING O-"

Before she could finish, Marco made his way to the door and turned around to face everyone when he reached the two massive doors. He saw the look of worry on all of their faces, especially Kelly's. 'I'll make it up to her later' he thought.

"I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, but it seems my presence is requested by a certain lizard and offered something _I couldn't refuse_. Your Queen has further details on the matter." He looked at Kelly and, with a small smile, mouthed the words: 'you'll know where I am, so don't worry my lady.'

Before anyone could fully recover from the shock of what had just happened, Marco ran past the doors and jumped out of the first window he saw.

As Marco was falling, he was trying to remember anything regarding Mewman landmarks he might have read about in a book.

Once he found it, he sighed. It was near the cornfields.

Great, that was about thirty minutes away on horseback and he couldn't use his abilities but needed to get this over with as quickly as possible. He had come back before things became hectic without him. 'Maybe if I run there…'

He noticed the wind in his hair and smiled.

'This feels nice. I should do this more often' he thought as he plummeted towards the ground at an alarming rate.

 **A/N** **: Sorry for the long wait. I'm deeply sorry, I truly am. Hopefully this chapter was decent lol. The following chapters will introduce the 'villains' more so hang tight! It's going to get wild and you are all going to be surprised o.o Thanks again for all the support and hopefully I answered some of your concerns, which I will be doing in chapters more often. Also, sorry for any grammar errors. Until next time!**


	8. The Surface

**Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

* * *

 _*(Some unknown pocket of Space)*_

A blazing red portal opened up and out came what appeared to be a demon wearing business attire. The demon had three red eyes, with the third having a nasty scar across it, faded red hair, a set of horns, and light violet skin.

The demon took a few steps forward and kneeled on the tile floor, with his head bowed. Suddenly, a bright flash of lights illuminated the area around the demon. He found himself in an enormous open room full of blue crystals that protruded from all angles and, at the very center, was a giant being made out of pure cosmic energy sitting on a throne of said crystals. This being had a skull for a head with a multitude of swords as makeshift horns, what appeared to be a galaxy at its core, and part of a mountain attached to its back.

He was ENORMOUS.

The demon couldn't help but feel nervous at being in the presence of such an entity.

Who wouldn't?

However, he had a job to do. Gathering his courage, the demon lifted his head to the giant before him, looking into its hollow eyes.

"My Lord, things seem to be going smoothly in the other kingdoms, but it appears that we have a few problems. Toffee has decided to leave our side, for unknown reasons, and Star has hired someone from the Lycan Guild to aid her in the war. This individual saved her from the ambush of Toffee's troops, despite the fool proof information I gave those _idiots_."

The being shifted on his throne and rested his head o n an enormous fist. " **It seems that your plan did not take into account this new...** _ **variable.**_ **Lucky for you, Tom Lucitor, I came upon some very interesting information, thanks to an old friend**." The being then lifted one of his fingers and a section of the crystal wall to the demon's right sunk to the floor.

The demons eyes went wide eyed. Chained to the wall was a bloody-motionless Hekapoo, withher head hanging down, body covered in cuts, different shades of bruises, and gold ichor.

A pool of the golden liquid was growing under her, as it trickled off her broken feet.

"M-My L-Lord, don't we still need her to help fulfill your plan?" Tom questioned shakily.

The room suddenly began to shake, some of the crystals fell from the the walls and shattered on the floor, as the cosmic being laughed. " **It was fun torturing the information out of her… the first couple of hours? It's hard to tell when time doesn't flow here… She isn't needed anymore but, sadly, I can't kill her because that would destabilize the universe due to how many use her portals as a means of transportation. So, for the time being, you will watch over h er and make sure she stays in that weakened state, while I check up on the 'pawn'. I can't have Hekapoo running off and telling someone about my plan... Now that I think about it,** " the skull turned to look at the broken demigoddess and seemed to smile, " **I'll give the** _ **Queen**_ **a visit on the way there and start phase two of the plan. Hopefully she puts up a fight, just like her mother and step-mother.** " it began to laugh again, making the room shake once more, causing Tom to dive out of the way of a stray crystal from impaling him.

He stood up groaning, and faced the entity. "But Lord Omnitraxus, what if Star's 'bodyguard' is present? Wouldn't he complicate things.?"

The demon shrunk at the cold stare that the two empty sockets gave him.

" _ **Do you doubt my power, boy**_ **!,** " he thundered, causing more crystals to fall. Tom's face went pale, "O-Of course not, my Lord. I was just voicing my concern regarding the unknown variable. My apologies." he bowed at the entity, who seemed to calm down.

" **This '** _ **variable**_ ' **calls himself 'Marco,' whose occupation is that of a blacksmith from the Lycan Guild... That was all I could manage to get out of Hekapoo, for the time being,** " its gaze hardened, " **It appears that she doesn't know much about him either or isn't telling me the whole truth.** " Omnitraxus instantly grew furious, ' **I've even looked into the Crystal Fields of Interwoven Continuum, but I've found** _ **nothing!**_ " it said, slamming its fist into the crystal throne, cracking the arm rest. " **It's** _ **impossible**_ **for there to be nothing! The fields show everyone's individual timelines, even** _**mine**_ … **Lucitor, while you're watching over Hekapoo, try to find some more information on this 'Marco'. As much as you can.** " it ordered the three-eyed demon, who nodded. " **Good, and you don't have to worry about me. I'm one of strongest beings in all of the cosmos,** " Omnitraxus smiled, " **I've made sure of that. Besides, my timeline, as well as the Queen's, hasn't changed, meaning that my visit won't change anything.** "

Tom couldn't argue with that. It was the truth, after all, since the MHC was…

"So what are we going to do about the Magic High Commission my lord?" asked Tom.

Omnitraxus Prime looked down at the demon/subordinate and chuckled.

" **They won't be going anywhere anytime soon, so don't worry about that either,** " the massive god-like being stood up, as if it was endless, " **You know your orders Tom.** " it said and opened a portal resembling a galaxy by bending the space in front with its finger. Omnitraxus began to go through the portal, but stopped midway when the feeling of uneasiness passed through him in an instant. A feeling he hadn't felt in eons.

"Is something wrong my Lord?" asked Tom cautiously, since he knew how short tempered the master of space-time was.

Prime didn't answer him, and instead walked through the bent space, leaving Tom and Hekapoo alone in its 'throne room'. Tom turned towards Hekapoo and shook his head, "She never did things the easy way" he thought. The demon made his way towards the demigoddess, confident that she was unconscious or probably dead.

She _looked_ dead, after all.

Tom approached her and bent down to inspect if she was still breathing, at least. Suddenly, Hekapoo started to move frantically against the chains, trying to escape, with a crazed look in her eyes, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor.

"P- _Please_ don't let Omni hurt _my Star_. _Please._ Let me go so I can get help for her." she pleaded, with tears running down her beaten face, mixing with her lifeblood. The look of absolute desperation and pain almost made Tom falter, and almost blow his cover by letting her go, but he couldn't afford that.

 _He couldn't_.

He had made a promise to an old friend and couldn't break it.

At least, not now. Omnitraxus Prime would resume to know of Tom's timeline as well, once he returned to Mewni where time flowed, unlike this place.

So he was betting his _life_ and _kingdom_ on…

He got on his knees, in front of the crying demigoddess, and put his forefinger against her forehead. "Don't worry Lady Hekapoo. Star is in good hands." He told her soothingly.

Before she could say anything back, a soothing sensation rapidly spread throughout her body and slumped forward, making the chains clank.

She was fast asleep.

"That should heal your wounds, somewhat. You're lucky I know a few healing spells…," he then looked up into the endless space that were the cosmos and sighed, "I really hope things turn out alright." He got up from the ground and flew over to sit at the crystal throne. "I'm sure Omnitraxus wouldn't mind if I keep the seat warm for him" he thought with a smirk.

Tom stuck his hand into the pant's pocket and took out a device that looked like a combination of a mirror and a phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, furrowing his brow.

He breathed in and out slowly a few times, and brought the phone up to the front of his face. Tom was a little nervous as to how * _beep*_ would react, but decided to stop hesitating and just get it over with. It wouldn't change the outcome anyway.

"Call * _beep_ *." he said to the device, which began to ring. On the third ring, a cloaked figure, all in black, answered.

"This better be good _Tom_. I'm very busy here at the castle and.." the person began but stopped when they saw Tom's expression. "What's wrong?" the individual asked worriedly.

"We have a problem. The _**King**_ _needs_ to be awakened. _Now._ Prime is on the move."

The person smiled and began to laugh at Tom, confusing him since this was no laughing matter.

"Oh _poor_ _Tommy_ , the _**King**_ has _always_ been awake. All we need to do now is prepare for the show."

* * *

It was a nice and cool morning in Mewni. A gentle breeze touched a few farmers who were out tending the fields close to the road by the Mewni River and were enjoying the beautiful day. When, suddenly, a sharp gust of wind passed by the fields going towards the hills, knocking down a couple farmers. One of the farmers sat up and looked at his wife, "Plant near the river they said, it'll be nice they said…" he grumbled on as his wife simply rolled her eyes and shook her head at him.

* * *

The Hill of Flags was surrounded by massive pine trees and smaller hills at the base, but didn't hide the towering hill from view. It was more of a mountain than a hill at this point.

A sudden gust of wind rustled the trees for a few seconds until the wind went back to it's normal gentle breeze. At the base of the hill was Marco, leaning against a tree, looking very exhausted and out of breath.

"I… really… shouldn't have… rushed here…," he wheezed and coughed, "especially… when I'm not wearing… the right attire for running." he finished with a tired breath. He took a minute to get his breathing back to normal and sat down against the tree, looking up towards the hill.

*Sigh* "I hope I didn't cause to much trouble back at the castle by leaving like that, but they wouldn't have let me come, especially alone. Kelly knows that I'm okay, though, so I shouldn't be in _too much_ trouble with her… probably." he thought.

He closed his eyes and began to meditate but realized it was hard because of the gentle breeze that was passing through the trees. A few minutes later, the urge to fall asleep, due to how pleasant the breeze was, overtook him but, somehow, kept his meditative pose.

He was sound asleep.

* * *

Marco's eyes fluttered open, being awakened from his peaceful nap, when he heard a few branches snapping near him. A large hand came from around the tree and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to look over said shoulder.

He was face to face with what appeared to be a muscular deer monster with a beard and a piercing on his ear.

Marco was then yanked from the ground and onto his feet, now fully facing the monster.

"Are you Marco?" the creature asked. He sighed and nodded, "Yes, I'm Marco and could you please let go of me? You're messing up the jacket." he said plainly.

The monster raised his eyebrow at, what he considered to be, a puny mewman. The monster was about to show him the inside of his bowels but brushed the thought away, since he was under strict orders from Toffee to not harm a single hair on the person. However, a scowl grew on the bearded monster's face since he was pretty sure that the force he used to pull him off the floor would have crushed his shoulder. The monster thought this because he had done the same thing to other muscular monsters, like himself, and achieved said result.

He let go of Marco's shoulder and crossed his arms at the puny mewman in front of him, "Your shoulder should have been crushed by that force, so why wasn't it? It's happened to others of my species, so why not to you, mewman?" he asked the smaller, and weaker in his mind, individual.

"Umm, I do a lot of push-ups soooo maybe that's why," Marco said as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist, "and I'm not a mewman so don't call me that."

This declaration made the monster even more suspicious of the 'non-mewman', but before he could interrogate him further, the creature felt a large lobster's claw on his shoulder.

"Beard Deer, what's taking you so long?" the crustacean monster asked his fellow comrade.

Bear Deer looked over his shoulder and grunted, walking past him. The new monster shook its head at his comrade, then turned to Marco, and extended its claw at him. "The name's Lobster Claws, and you're Marco, right?" the crustacean asked.

Marco smiled at the polite monster and shook its claw, "Yea, I'm Marco. By the way, do you know what time it is?" he asked the monster. Lobster Claws looked at his watch, surprising Marco for even having one, "Well, it's 9:15. Why?" the monster tilted his head curiously.

Marco face-palmed.

He had done it again.

"Is something wrong Marco?"

"No, nothing's wrong Lobster Claws. I just let myself get carried away by getting here in under ten minutes." he said while rubbing his neck sheepishly.

The crustacean couldn't believe that to be true, since Master Toffee had told them that he had sent that letter to Castle Butterfly, which was about half an hour away on horseback! "Wait… where was Marco's horse?" he thought.

The monster was shaken out of its stupor when he felt Marco's hand touch his arm.

"So where's this camp?" he asked the semi-dazed crustacean.

"Oh, it's over this way."

They both began to walk in the direction that Beard Deer had gone.

Leaving the Hill of Flags behind them.

* * *

The walk was a little awkward at first, but turned pleasant after a few minutes of small talk.

Marco and Lobster Claws had made the best of their conversations, having become friends in such a short amount of time. Marco talked to Lobster Claws about himself, due to the crustacean's constant begging of him to do so. Marco told him about the experiments, as much as he could remember anyway, his Trials, childhood, friends, and the guild. Lobster Claws was a good listener, giving his undivided attention to Marco and the occasional gasp or understanding nod from time to time at the right moments.

As they continued to walk and talk, a medieval stone castle surrounded by walls of the same material became visible in the distance, but they didn't seem to notice. They were too engrossed in their conversation, which happened to be about Kelly.

Lobster Claws tried to stop laughing, wiping a tear from his eye, "Wow, I can't believe Kelly hunted down the girls from your guild for giving you _sweets_ ," he chuckled, "Were they okay?" he asked.

Marco's laugh turned into a nervous one, "Yea, they were okay… I think. I haven't seen them in the guild ever since. The other girls from the guild steer clear away from me, which I don't mind since I enjoy silence, except for Higgs but that's because she considers me like a little brother. I suppose it's because she is older than me by two years and has been one of my closest friends, besides Kelly."

"So let me get this straight, Higgs, a _woman_ at this point, hangs around _you_ practically everyday even though Kelly is _dangerously_ jealous?" he asked, to which Marco nodded.

The crustacean looked at his friend and couldn't help but chuckle, "You really are somewhat dense when it comes to girls aren't you?" he asked Marco, who looked at him with surprise.

"THAT'S WHAT HIGGS ALWAYS SAYS!" he yelled, "but I don't know why she says that? I'm a pretty perceptive person."

Lobster Claws placed one of his claws on his shoulder and shook his head, "I'm afraid that she's telling the truth, my friend, but that's not your main problem right now is it?"

Marco turned to him and sighed, "I see that you're also very perceptive…," the two walked in silence for a few seconds, "... and you're right. However, I would like to keep that to myself until I figured out how to deal with it."

Lobster Claws gave his friend an understanding nod, and decided not press him on the matter.

However, a thought suddenly popped into his head regarding what Marco had talked about

earlier. "Wasn't Master Toffee's daughter in a camp like the one Marco was in? _That_ _day_ certainly wasn't pleasant for any of us, but she came back talking about a boy. I wonder if…"

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a few monsters begin to shout... _racial slurs_? Lobster Claws turned towards the direction of the noise and frowned. At the top of the stone wall were two bird-like monsters, who were shouting at the top of their lungs.

Marco noticed his friends displeasure and put his hand on the crustacean's arm, attempting to calm him down a little. "It's okay, I'm used to it. Those words don't bother me anymore." Marco said with a smile.

"But Mar…"

"What are you doing here you _disgusting foreigner_!?"

"You're in the wrong part of the woods _mongrel_! Get out of here before I hang you up on a tree!"

Lobster Claws had had enough of their idiocy, so he walked up to the gate and forced it open, slamming it against the top of the wall that now had a noticeable crack.

"COME DOWN HERE YOU IDIOTS!" he yelled at the monsters above, causing them to flinch.

Marco followed after the crustacean, past the gate, and got to see the two monsters descend from the ladders against the stonewall.

As the monsters were walking up to them, a crowd of monsters began to gather near the gate. One in particular caught Marco's attention, someone in a dark cloak.

The two birds stopped in front of Lobster Claws and they looked scared.

" _I will not allow such_ _ **hypocritical**_ _**views**_ _on my watch. Now apologize._ " said the fuming crustacean through gritted teeth, causing the culprits to flinch. The crowd began to murmur;

"I've never seen Lobster Claws this mad…"

"Who's the kid?"

"What is that _thing_ around his waist?"

The two bird monsters slowly walked up to Marco, staring at him with disdain, and apologized.

However, Lobster Claws didn't feel it was sincere so, out of rage, he got one of the birds in between his claws and was about to clamp down, when Marco pried open his hold.

The bird monster was shaking on the ground, realizing he was a split second away from dying, and was dragged away by the other bird monster, disappearing into the crowd. Marco looked up at Lobster Claws with a small smile, "Thanks for standing up for me, but there's no reason to kill someone over _words_. Besides, I can take care of myself, remember?"

The crustacean sighed and nodded.

Marco was right.

"Sorry about that, I got a bit carried away… It's just that I _hate_ when someone thinks they are _above_ others, no matter the species."

Marco gave his friend an understanding nod and gestured with his eyes towards to silent crowd of monsters, as if saying 'now apologize to them.'

Lobster Claws sighed again and faced the crowd, "Sorry for the uncivilized outburst and actions everybody. I hope you can all forgive your general for being such a bad role model." He then bowed in front of the crowd.

It went silent, but the crowd soon erupted, giving Lobster Claws forgiveness.

"It's alright, boss."

"Don't worry about it. It's water under the bridge… That's how it goes right?" the monster whispered to someone next to him, who replied with a shrug.

"I didn't even notice the kid was a foreigner…"

Lobster Claws smiled at his fellow monsters and turned back to Marco, who gave him a smile. He walked up to the crustacean and patted him on the back. "Marco isn't even _from this dimension_ , but he cares for everyone equally. He really is a good kid." he thought with a smile.

"So you're a General too huh, small world." Marco said, confusing the crustacean.

Before he could ask his brown skinned friend what he meant, the sound of a horn blew throughout the camp, causing everybody to fall in line, even Lobster Claws.

Having realized that he had left Marco behind, the crustacean tried to gesture to Marco to come towards him but Marco simply stayed put, looking forward with his hands at his sides. Lobster Claws then noticed that the blank stare Marco had was one that he had seen before… in Master Toffee before a battle.

The horn's sound rang throughout the camp one last time, until it went completely silent.

"It's too late. He's here, but _why is_ _he here_? I thought an escort was to take him to the hideout?" Lobster Claws thought.

From the tents that littered the castle's courtyard emerged the Immortal Lizard, Toffee, who was being followed by the cloaked individual that Marco had spotted earlier in the crowd.

Toffee was clad in his battle attire: a tight black vest with skulls on his shoulders, black leather pants, and jet black boots. The lizard walked towards Marco, eyes focused, and stopped a couple of yards away from him, as well as the cloaked figure.

The two generals stared at each other, as if trying to read the other's mind, waiting to see who made the first move.

Toffee was the first to break the silence.

"So you're the Queen's 'bodyguard' and _new_ general? Marco was it?" the lizard asked with a blank stare. Marco didn't respond, but instead continued to stare down the scaly being in front of him, noticing prominent cheek marks on the skulls that looked similar to Star's.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. I'm going to cut to the point since I'm pressed for time. Marco, would you join us in the fight against Star Butterfly and her forces of evil in order to acquire the independence, rights, and land we rightfully deserve that was taken from us long ago?"

Marco raised an eyebrow at Toffee, "Us?"

"Yes, _us_. Your kind, as well as mine, the Septarians, were natives of this land… until the _Butterflies_ arrived and killed both of our species off." the lizard said coldly.

Marco scoffed, "There are no records of what you claim, Toffee, so how can I know what you're saying to be true? Besides, I'm not from this dimension, so any of ' _my kind_ ' would have never set foot on these lands." he said matter-of-factly, causing Toffee to give him an unsettling smile.

The lizard pulled out an old medium-sized book that had a clover symbol on it, with a golden binding, from behind his back and skimmed through it.

Where was he hiding that book? Who knows.

"It's funny you say that with such confidence, because what I hold in my hand begs to differ. _This_ book, called the **Unus Veritas** , was written by my ancestors long ago, and it so happens to describe my people's _daily_ interactions with a group that called themselves 'humans'. There were three families that stood out from that group and one of them just _happened_ to have the surname **Diaz**." he said with a smirk, while closing the book.

Marco's eyes went wide-eyed for a second, but quickly went back to their blank state; however, Toffee noticed. "He must be lying… the archives and every other place that I've traveled to during my Trial days, had no information about anything resembling me…" Marco thought.

"I can see that you're having trouble believing my words so I'll give you another piece of information that hopefully extends the 'olive branch', as your kind were described to say." Toffee opened the book once again and began to search for something, stopping after a few seconds of searching, and grinned.

He glanced up at Marco, "Now this is _interesting_." The lizard was about to speak when he was interrupted by the cloaked figure, who grabbed his arm and pulled down the cloaks hood that hid their face, causing Marco's eyes to soften.

"Dad, I don't think _blackmailing_ is the path to take in order to win Marco's favor." She turned towards Marco and gave him a sheepish smile. "Hey Marco... long time no see."

Marco was beyond confused at this point since not only was he being told _possible_ truths about himself and his people, but the strangely familiar girl in front of him only managed to confuse him further. "How does she know my name?" he thought and searched his brain for _any_ information that may alleviate his confusion, but the only 'memories' that came up where blurred, causing Marco to shut his eyes due to the piercing headache for trying to force them open.

The girl was about to bolt towards Marco, seeing him in pain, but was stopped by her father's grip on her shoulder. "You can't get near him Luna, not unless he decides join our cause." he said with a stony expression. She pulled her shoulder away from her father's grip in anger, surprising the emotionless lizard.

"Must I _remind_ you that it's because of _him_ that I'm _alive_?" she asked with a hurt expression.

The monsters, who now surrounded the trio, were shocked at hearing such a statement, followed by murmurs of confusion, except for one monster.

Lobster Claws had a smile on his face. His suspicions about Marco, regarding his involvement with the rescue, were true. "He _really_ _did save_ the princess from that horrible place." he thought.

Marco, on the other hand, opened his eyes slowly. Some of his blurred memories beginning to clear and, when they finally did, he

went wide-eyed and his mouth opened slightly.

A breath escaped past his lips that he didn't realize was being held captive within himself, a lone tear sliding down his face.

He instinctively grasped for something around his neck, but found nothing.

The sight of seeing Marco doing that action caused Luna's heart to ache tremendously, a few tears rolling down her pale cheeks. " _He finally remembers_ …" she thought, as happiness began to outweigh the sorrow of seeing her long lost friend.

As Marco stared at Luna, who he thought was _dead_ after not hearing anything from her since that snowy day. "She looks the same as she did back then, just older, more beautiful, and with cheek marks? They look somewhat like Star's… Wait. Did she just call Toffee Dad?" the brown haired 'human' thought.

As Marco was stuck in his mind trying to piece things together so they made _sense_ , he didn't realize that he was eyeing Luna from head to toe, _very slowly_ , making the girl's cheeks and tips of her pointy ears turn a deep shade of red. Everyone noticed what Marco was doing and grew worried for him, since Toffee had a scowl on his face, an intense growl slowly rising from his throat.

"You dare to ogle _my_ **daughter** while in my presence!" the livid lizard snarled through gritted teeth, causing Marco to snap out of his stupor. Marco faced the fuming lizard and blinked a few times, "What? Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?" he asked curiously.

In a split second, Toffee rushed Marco.

Marco, still somewhat in a daze, didn't react on time and paid for it. The lizard landed a clean kick to the side of Marco's face, sending him flying into the castle's stone wall behind him.

Luna and Lobster Claws tried to rush to Marco's aid, but were stopped in their tracks with a single-low growl from an enraged Toffee. Luna and the crustacean stared at the crumbling wall that Marco had flown through, fearing the worst, while everybody else watched in a heavy silence.

"Wh-What… DID YOU DO!" wailed Luna at her father with tears running down her face. Toffee turned to his daughter and began to slowly calm down once he saw the pain in her daughter's eyes.

He then turned towards the hole in the wall and frowned.

"Come on out Marco! You're worrying my daughter!" he yelled at the wall.

A long agonizing minute passed, the only sounds being Luna's constant sobs and laments, until something was heard from the direction of the destroyed wall, a few rocks from the rubble began to fall off of the pile.

To everyone's surprise, except for Toffee who simply rolled his eyes, Marco emerged from the pile of broken stone coughing and appearing to be fine, just a bit dirty.

Marco crawled out of the rubble and onto his feet, now facing Toffee while dusting himself off. "You're _lucky_ that my clothes are enchanted and didn't tear or we would have a _problem_ " Marco said with a slight annoyance and furrowed brows.

However, when he then saw that Luna's face was covered with tears, but looked relieved, it caused Marco's slowly-building anger to dissolve. "A-Are y-you ok-okay M-arco?" she worriedly stuttered out.

Marco replied by giving her a heartwarming smile, a smile she hadn't seen since they were kids.

She made a dash towards Marco, on all fours, and dodged her father's attempts to stop her from reaching her goal. Marco, still smiling, opened up his arms towards his lost but, now, found friend. Luna crashed into his arms, causing him to stumble back a little, as they shared a hug full of joy.

"It's been a while Swirly. I'm glad to see you're doing well." he said into the top of her dark silver hair as he tightened the embrace, sending a shiver down Luna's spine. "Yea, it's been awhile Marco," she then felt the muscles on his arms and blushed, "I-I'm glad to see you're doing well too."

Their reunion was cut short when they heard clapping coming from Toffee's direction, gaining everyone's attention.

Everyone, except for Marco, tensed up when they saw where the clapping was coming from.

Toffee felt a gloved hand on his arm, and knew he was in trouble.

It was Eclipsa, his wife.

" _Dear,_ do you mind telling me **why** you attacked Marco. I thought we were going to _thank him_ for saving _our_ daughter." she said in a loving but cold tone, with a smile on her face. The lizard paled, knowing nothing he said would justify his actions and derailing of the plan to try and convince Marco, without fighting, to help them in the war. "What's wrong _**dear**_? Cats got your tongue?" she asked in a similar fashion, except for the fact that her cheek marks were now glowing a dark violet, causing the monsters who were watching to scatter into the castle.

Eclipsa pulled Toffee down to her level, mouth near his ear, "I'll have to punish you _later_ , since we have a guest." she whispered, causing the lizard to look at his daughter with a worried expression, to which Luna just smirked. "He deserves it for attacking Marco." she quickly thought.

The menacing mewman woman then turned her attention to the two remaining individuals in the courtyard, and smiled out how close they were. "I guess Marco seems trustworthy since he doesn't appear to want to harm anyone, even my _idiot_ of a husband, and became friends with his enemy, their General no less, in such a short time. _He really is a keeper_. Hopefully my daughter can claim him as her own, she is at the age of finding a spouse after all." These thoughts flowed through her head several times, making Marco and Luna to give each other looks of worry.

"Marco," she whispered, "whatever you do, _do not_ anger my mom, for _your_ sake."

"You're mom?!" he whispered back, now realizing why that tapestry of Eclipsa back at Castle Butterfly looked so familiar. Luna was almost the spitting image of her mother, except for the lizard portions, hair and eye color, and her face wasn't as round.

"What are you two whispering about?" whispered Eclipsa from next to them, startling the duo.

"MOM! It's nothing!" exclaimed Luna, giving Marco a nudge with her elbow in his stomach, but he ignored her warning. He looked down at Eclipsa's smiling face, noticing that her cheek marks weren't glowing anymore, "How are you still alive?" he asked while tilting his head slightly.

Luna, as well as Toffee in the background, looked at Marco with horror since they knew that Eclipsa was _very sensitive_ about her age.

One of her eyebrows twitched, "My, you certainly know how rile a lady up, I'll give you that." she said with a strained smile.

Marco simply bowed, catching all of them off guard at the sudden gesture, "My apologies ma'am. I was just curious since you look so young and beautiful. I can see where Luna get's her looks from." Eclipsa fanned her face, trying to cool the rising blush on her cheeks, while Luna played with her tail sheepishly, attempting to hide her blushing.

In the background, Toffee looked annoyed and was _very_ close to sending Marco through another wall.

"Nice save Marco," Eclipsa chuckled, "but do remember that I'm _married_. My daughter is a much better fit for you than me." she finished with a smile, causing Marco's to turn into a blushing and stuttering mess.

As Eclipsa laughed at the boys reaction, she began to push the duo towards an entrance into the castle, followed by an annoyed Immortal Lizard.

"Let's talk over a nice cup of tea and catch up, since I'm sure we all have _much_ to talk about." she said as the group disappeared further into the castle.

* * *

 _(Town Square near Castle Butterfly)_

A white cross-shaped portal opened in a dark alley near the town hall, vanquishing any darkness near it.

A girl wearing a black unbuttoned army jacket with a red undershirt, a black choker around her neck, and torn-faded blue jeans stepped out of the holy light with a pair of white dimensional scissors in one hand. As the light settled, it was visible that she had a light complexion, small nose, light freckled cheeks, black lipstick on her plump lips, a set of piercings on each ear, and dark brown hair that began to turn a dirty blond half ways down, which happened to cover her left eye. Once the light settled a bit more, it revealed that she had a pear shape body.

Her eyes opened and revealed a pair of piercing hazel eyes, looking towards the towering castle up ahead.

The girls black colored lips formed into a smile, putting her hands on her hips.

"So _this_ is where you've been hiding? I'm impressed."

* * *

 _(Castle Butterfly: Throne Room; 30 minutes after Marco left)_

Star couldn't believe what had just happened and was still trying to make sense of the events that had just unfolded. Not only had she almost been killed, again, and saved by Marco, _again_ , but this time the perpetrator was none other than _Toffee_. Star had read the note on her lap several times now, but didn't and couldn't believe a single word out of that lizards mouth.

So why had Marco?

She rubbed her temples in order to alleviate the massive headache she was getting for trying to make sense of Marco's rash decision to leave without talking about it with her… oh, and her newfound friends.

However, the nobles and generals in the massive room didn't seem to care that _their Queen_ needed some peace and quiet. Their yelling was starting to get on her nerves and the echoes of them weren't making the situation any better. "Is that a mirror phone ringing?" she thought with annoyance.

"What are we going to do about this our Queen!?"

"Isn't it suspicious that the _new general_ vanished without a trace when Toffee requested for him!"

"I _knew_ we shouldn't have trusted a _foreigner_."

The people only grew louder and louder, until the room turned into an all out shouting match. However, a loud cracking sound echoed and bounced throughout the whole room, silencing the incessant complaining and assumptions of those inside.

"Could all of you just SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP."

The crowd, even Star, turned towards the speaker.

It was Kelly, accompanied by Higgs, standing next to a cracked pillar made of solid granite by the throne, with her fist still on it. She was beyond pissed at all of those stuck up nobles and doubtful generals for thinking, _even for a second,_ that Marco was a traitor. They didn't know him like she did. Sure, he was hiding some things from her… some very important things, but she didn't care, too much. Kelly knew that Marco always did things to help or save people, so he definitely wouldn't betray those he cared about, like his friends… Then why couldn't she shake the feeling of doubt from her mind?

Was she doubting Marco again?

Kelly shook her head and focused back to the silent crowd. "Did all of you seriously call this _stupid_ emergency meeting to only bash Marco? None of you even _know him_ , so how can any you accuse him of such things?" she said angrily.

The room was silent, until a random noble stood up, "Isn't he your friend? So your opinion on him is biased. Plus, we have every right to be cautious of our new 'general'. Sure, he displayed his ability of commanding and strategy, but it takes more than _that_ to become a general of Mewni. It also requires _experience_ on the battlefield, which a teenager couldn't possibly have." he said smugly, to which several nobles agreed too, even a couple of generals.

Kelly scoffed, pulling out a pair of scissors covered in intricate runes, the name 'Marco' stuck out prominently in beautiful and intricate lettering on the side. "Do any of you know what these are? Well, just in case you don't, I'll tell you. _These_ ," she gestured towards the scissors, "are dimensional scissors that are _only_ awarded to those who have completed Lady Hekapoo's Trials. Trials that took him _over a decade_ to complete in her dimension, so he _has_ experience. Probably more than any of you in this room."

The crowd went silent. Not expecting to hear that about their General.

"He went through life threatening situations, in order to get these scissors, so he could get stronger and protect people…" Tears began to form in her eyes, "He almost _died_ during the process of becoming stronger."

Kelly began to chuckle, but those chuckles soon turned into sobs, then to sniffling, "So if *sniff* _anyone_ should be worried here it's **ME** *sniff* because _I know_ that Marco *sniff* is willing to put his life on the line to help _anyone_ ," Kelly's expression hardened when her eyes skimmed over the nobles, generals, and, finally, Star, "even those that **don't** deserve it."

Higgs walked up from behind Kelly and placed a hand on her pained friend, who seemed to tense at her touch for a second.

"I know you're hurting Kelly, trust me I know, but now isn't the time to scold these morons." She then turned to Star and gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry Star, but Kelly and I are going to head out and look for Marco," she pulled out a mirror phone from her leather skirts pocket, "We'll let you know if we find anything."

The duo were about to head out of the throne room when an intense rumble shook the castle, causing some of the mewmans to fall on the ground from the intensity.

A large galaxy-like portal appeared above the throne room and showed a massive being with a skull that had swords as horns slowly emerge from it.

" **Don't leave now, Higgs. You'll miss the show**." it boomed.

Star looked up at the cosmic being, confusion visible in her eyes, "Omnitraxus Prime?! What are you doing here?!" she asked in an authoritative tone.

Prime turned its massive head towards the Queen and smiled, " **I'm here for the wand**."

 **A/N : Well that took awhile to do, geeeeez. This is my longest chapter yet with it almost reaching _7k words_ and, as the title suggests, is only the surface of what is to come, so hopefully that'll help with all of you forgiving me for taking so long to push this out lol. So, was the chapter interesting or was it meh? The main antagonist was slightly introduced, oh, did any of you like how I showed, even if slightly, a side of monsters like Lobster Claws? I certainly enjoyed it. More pieces were revealed about Marco and his past, and I was **_**so very close**_ **to out right exposing everything about him, but that wouldn't be fun, right? Maybe in the next couple of chapters I will, and sorry for ending on a cliffhanger.**

 **Anyways, I know I sound like a broken record and junk, but thanks for all the support, especially the reviews which I enjoy reading by the way, and for getting this story to** _**over 3,500 views**_ **! That's insane! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and until next time. Peaceeeee.**

 **P.S: Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I'm only human lol. By the way, 'Unus Veritas' means 'One Truth'.**


	9. Beginning of the Storm

**A/N** **: I'm deeply sorry for the long wait, but I had writers block for the last couple of days, which allowed me to start another story so it wasn't all bad. I'm still sorry, though. Thanks for all the continued support and for making this story reach over 4400 views! It's insane! Anyways, something is going to happen that none of you would have guessed. Probably. Well enough of that, let's get on with the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

* * *

 _(Monster Camp: Castle; 9:40 AM)_

The dining room was very large. The walls were decorated with hanging pots, pans, weapons, meats, and other oddities. It had several wooden tables that surrounded a square one. The square table was set up like one that someone might find in a noble's residence with cups filled with tea on it.

There were four individuals sitting around said table: two were smiling, one looked contemplative, while the other appeared to be _deeply_ annoyed.

"So, Marco, I would like to say thank you for saving Luna all those years ago, trusting us to come here and for brushing off my husband's _childish tendencies_." Eclipsa said with a smile, as she drank tea.

Marco snapped out of whatever thought he was currently on and turned to mewman woman. "It's fine, really, but I must say that he does have a strong kick." Marco chuckled, to which Eclipsa joined. Toffee's scowl deepened and was about to give Marco a piece of his mind but, the look that his wife shot at him, quickly changed his mind.

[Sigh] "Sorry about that Marco. It won't happen again… maybe." he said with a smirk, causing him to receive a hard kick to the shin from under the table. Toffee's blank expression didn't change, but a single pain-tear managed to escape him. Luna shook her head at her parents antics, while Marco smiled at the trio before him. "They really do act like a family." he thought happily, but started to feel a sense of _something_.

It was making him nauseous.

Luna noticed Marco's expression sour slightly and assumed it was because of how her parents were acting. [Ahem] "So, Mom and Dad, what did you want to talk to Marco about?" she asked the 'fighting' adults.

Eclipsa turned to her daughter and followed her gesture towards Marco, noticing his expression as well. "Oops, sorry about that Marco. Stuff like this happens, especially when you're married. You'll understand what I mean later on, or sooner," Eclipsa glanced at her daughter, who blushed at her mother's implication, "anyway, let's get to business." she said with an authoritative tone.

Marco, finally snapping out of his stupor, nodded at Eclipsa.

"Okay, Marco, here's the deal. My husband and I want to end the war against Mewni quickly and with as little bloodshed as possible. We would like your help in achieving our goals of equality, rights, and the land that rightfully belongs to the monster species. Now, why are we asking for _your_ _help_? Well, we recognize that you hold a certain weight with the Queen and because, just like us, you want to end this entire mess through _diplomacy,_ if possible, which I'm sure you can somehow convince her to consider. Of course, we are willing to work with you to achieve this, so don't worry about us not cooperating. So, What do you say? Will you help us?"

Marco, who had paid very close attention the entire time, glanced at Luna and held his gaze. She met his eyes, did the same, eyes slowly changing to a mesh of different colors, and gave him a small smile. He returned the gesture and turned to Toffee, who looked at him with signs of distrust, causing Marco to raise an eyebrow at the lizard.

Marco looked straight, eyes landing on Eclipsa, and noticed that she was no longer smiling. "What you just told me sounds great and all, but I can't agree or disagree _until_ you answer my questions." Marco said with a smile.

Eclipsa sighed, nodded, and gestured for him to continue.

Marco leaned forward in his seat, placing both of his hands on the table, " _I need to know what happened during the Castle Lucitor incident_ ," he said sternly, "It's for a… friend."

Eclipsa and Toffee shared a quick glance, while Luna looked at Marco with confusion, "I'm sorry Marco, but we can't disclose that type of information." Marco looked at his hands and nodded slowly.

He quickly stood up from his seat, "Then we have nothing further to talk about." he said with a hint of disappointment.

When Marco was about to walk past Luna, she grabbed onto his hand, almost desperately. He looked down at her and noticed how sad her eyes looked. "Marco… please, wait." She turned to her parents and frowned, "Tell him what you know."

"Sweetheart, we can't-"

"TELL HIM!"

The room fell silent.

Eclipsa glanced at her husband for a green-light, and noticed that his scowl had been replaced by a look of parental concern. She followed her husband's gaze, and wished she hadn't.

Luna was trembling. She was holding onto Marco's hand as if he was the _only one_ in the world that was keeping her from falling apart. Marco was petting her head but the kind gesture did little to help the trembling girl. She was reminding Marco of the day that Kelly lost her dad… since she was doing the exact same thing at the burial ceremony. It was one of the few times he had seen Kelly cry...

He hated seeing her like that.

Eclipsa had never seen her daughter _this_ _distressed_ before, and the way she held his hand only confirmed the assumptions she had formed throughout the years of observing Luna after the incident involving the two.

In those years, after spying on her daughter out of concern, she had noticed that Luna would go into the woods alone, after everyone went to sleep, and just sit against a tree with the pendant on her lap, completely still. Her face was expressionless as tears rolled down her cheeks those nights, eyes devoid of any light.

Sometimes, she almost looked as if she were…

She glanced back at her husband, who gave her a small but sad nod.

He must have noticed too.

Marco was and _still is_ a very important, maybe even critical, part of her life.

[Sigh] "Okay, Marco. We'll… We'll tell you everything. We owe you that much."

Marco glanced at both of them and nodded. He sat back down, never letting go of Luna's hand as he did so, which seemed to begin to calm her down.

"You okay Luna?" Marco whispered. She wiped a few forming tears from her eyes and nodded, giving him a partial smile. He patted her hand to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere anymore.

He faced Eclipsa, who looked a little relieved to see her daughter doing better and Toffee appeared to share the same sentiment.

"So tell me. What happened that day?"

"Before I do that, maybe _you_ should tell me what you know of the incident. It might save time that way." she said, while tapping her fingers against the table.

"As far as I know, on that day, Queen Moon Butterfly and King River Johansen-Butterfly were going to Castle Lucitor and hired/ordered extra protection to ensure a safe trip there. One of those individuals happened to be my friend's dad…," Marco's eyes hardened, "Anyway, the Magic High Commission was tagging along as well." he looked at Toffee and scoffed, "I guess they must have been _really_ afraid of you huh? Needing to have the five overseers of all things magic related as _bodyguards_ says a lot about the threat… as well as the ones defending against it." He returned his gaze towards Eclipsa. "There was an ambush of sorts by the monsters, who somehow knew _exactly_ where they were. Toffee then managed to kill _more than half_ of the MHC, over fifty Mewman Knights, the rulers of the Lucitor Kingdom, and… all of the extra aid there. That's what I've heard anyway."

Eclipsa gave Marco a small smile, confusing him.

"Hmmm, well, sorry to burst your bubble but everything you said about that was _**completely false**_. Let me explain why. For starters, our armies weren't _anywhere_ near Lucitor Kingdom. We were actually having a picnic down by the Mewni River to celebrate the recent victory of taking the area around The Hill of Flags from Mewni's forces. Luna can vouch for that if you don't believe us. [she gave Marco a slow nod] Secondly, we _knew_ about the trip but didn't want to wager our _entire force_ on something that we weren't even fifty percent sure of winning. There's a difference between taking risks and being stupid."

Eclipsa suddenly started chuckling loudly, "Lastly, do you think that _my husband_ was actually capable of taking on the _entire_ MHC?!" her chuckling soon turned to laughter, causing Toffee to growl at her. "Oh lighten up dear," she patted his shoulder while calming down herself, "You're strong but you're not _that strong._ In fact, I'll prove it." she turned to Marco and smirked, "Marco, did my husband's kick hurt you at _all_?"

Luna gave her mother a puzzled look, " Of course it _hurt him_! Right Mar-" she turned towards Marco who was… smiling.

She gave Marco's hand a squeeze, which he returned. "Marco? Did… Did my dad's kick hurt you?" Luna asked worriedly. He scoffed and shook his head, "Not really, but I'm sure he was going easy on me." he finished with a smile.

Eclipsa turned to her husband and snorted at the look of annoyance he had, "Were you going _easy_ dear?" she chuckled. He shot his wife such an intense stare that it could probably make an entire squadron of mewman knight's shake in their boots.

Luckily, Eclipsa wasn't a knight.

" _Of course_ I was going _easy_ on him. I didn't want to make my daughter sad for accidentally killing one of her friends." he said with crossed arms, "Besides, we need him alive to help."

His wife simply rolled her eyes at him, "Riiiiight. Anyway, we had nothing to do with the Lucitor incident Marco. You have my word. Now, is there anything else you want to ask?"

Marco furrowed his brows, 'So if they weren't involved, then who was? Why would they give all of the credit to Toffee and his forces and _**why**_ would they let two of the MHC members go? Clearly they were strong enough to-' Marco's train of thought was derailed when Luna poked his cheek with her tail, startling him.

"Marco, you okay?" she asked while tilting her head.

"Huh? Oh, yea, I'm okay. [Ahem] This next thing involves what Sir Toffee? was talking about in the courtyard. How did you know, besides my name, that that information pertained to me?"

All eyes shifted to Toffee, who smiled, "Well Marco, it's because-"

Marco shot out of his seat, accidentally yanking Luna up with him. "Is that clock correct?" he asked to no one in particular. Everyone looked at him with mixed expressions due to his sudden outburst. "Is that clock correct?!" he asked again, this time more desperately.

The rest turned towards the clock.

It was 9:55 AM.

"Umm, yes? It's correct, right dear?" Eclipsa asked Toffee, who simply nodded.

" _ **Crap**_. I have to go. I'll contact you guys as soon as I can to see when I can come back and finish our talk, and _yes_ I'm going to help." Everyone in the room seemed to smile, even Toffee, for getting Marco on board _the right way_ and avoiding conflict.

"Well, bye." He was about to take off running but stopped when he noticed that something was anchoring him down. He turned to see a rapidly saddening Luna, "Marco, where are you going?" she asked softly.

[Sighs] "Luna, I promise to come back, okay, but I _really_ need to go." She gave him a sad smile, and an understanding nod, releasing her grip. "I'll hold you to that, _Trickster_."

Marco gave her a quick, but firm, hug. "I'm sure you will. [pats her head] See you around, Swirly."

He gave her a warm-hearted look before turning on his heels and bolting out of the room, passing a few confused monsters on the way out.

"Hey, did you feel that gust of wind?" a monster asked a fellow comrade, who simply shrugged and went back to brooming the long halls.

* * *

" _SHIT_. Please be okay. _Please_ …" repeated Marco over and over in his head as he made his way towards Castle Butterfly at a seemingly lightning speed.

A storm peeked over the mountains behind him, and continued to roll forward, as if going to the same destination.

A loud thunder clap suddenly shook the earth below.

It began to rain.

* * *

" **I'm here for the wand.** "

The throne room went silent after Prime had said that. Everyone stood still, either out of shock or fear, except for two individuals.

Kelly looked over her shoulder, making eye contact with Higgs, and gave a small nod. She returned it and moved towards the throne rooms massive doors, not wasting a single second as she opened them slowly. Once fully opened, Higgs turned to the crowd and took a deep breath.

" **RUN**!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, causing everyone, including the two magical beings, to turn towards her. Reality finally settling in, the crowd ran towards the doors and out of the room as quickly as their fear allowed them to.

The throne room was cleared in less than a minute, leaving only four ladies and Prime. Star glanced at the fourth individual and felt both relieved and scared at the same time.

" **Jackie Lynn Thomas, it's been a while.** " Prime said with what appeared to be a smirk. Jackie, wearing her full set of knight armor, walked to the middle of the throne room and gave her cousin a sad smile.

[looks at Prime] "I suggest you leave, Prime. You have already lost. [points at a clock above the throne rooms doors] It's 9:56 so you have less than five minutes to make yourself scarce. You'll regret it otherwise." Jackie said with a smirk, causing the massive being to become angry.

" _ **I am Omnitraxus Prime**_ **, master over space-time! [the room began to shake] No one is my equal!** " the being exclaimed.

Jackie began to laugh hysterically at the magical being, causing everyone to give her worried looks, even Prime. [Wipes a few tears] "Oh Prime, you couldn't be more wrong about that. In fact, [turns to Kelly] there's already someone here who can give you a run for your money." she said with a smile. "However, I can't let you harm her. I made a promise blah blah, you get the rest. So, I'll be entertaining you for now, [throws helmet across the room and looks at Star] with the help of my cousin, if she'd like to join."

Star was at a loss for words, for several reasons. One; Prime wants to take the royal wand, two; Jackie seems to _know_ Prime; and three, Jackie had just asked for _her help_ in fighting one of the strongest, if not _the_ strongest, being in existence. However, even in the face of such an obstacle, she couldn't help but smile. She had been taught by _both_ of her moms to stand her ground when the going got tough.

This was certainly one of those times.

[grabs wand and begins charging it with magic] "I would be _delighted_ to help" she said with a smile, causing her cousin to smile in return.

[A smaller Prime steps out of portal shooting cosmic energy] The room began to shake as thunder could be heard from the outside, as well as rain. Jackie glanced at Higgs and then at Kelly, giving them a small nod before charging at Prime who was followed by Star.

Higgs placed her hands on Kelly's shoulder, causing her to turn to her freckled friend. [Inhales and exhales] "Okay, listen very closely Kelly. Prime _cannot_ get his hands on Star's wand, okay? [Kelly tries to interrupt] "No, shh, listen. If that _thing_ gets its hands on the wand it will spell disaster, for not only Mewni but possibly other dimensions as well... Marco told me to look after you and keep you safe, but screw that. Your help is needed in beating [points at Prime who is currently fighting Jackie and Star] that. Marco isn't here to help so it falls to us… Are you with me." Higgs asked with a small smile.

Kelly glances at Prime, then at Higgs, and nods. She pulls out her greatsword from her hair and signals Higgs with her eyes that she is ready. [Gestures to Prime] "I'll provide support for Star and Jackie, while you go for the feet." she told Kelly, who simply nodded. "Okay, good luck."

Higgs pulled out a set of daggers from the sheaths behind her back, which went ablaze as soon as they were fully pulled out. She then ran to provide some sort of support to the two royals, leaving Kelly behind.

' _Higgs is right. Marco isn't here to help so it falls to us to stop this thing. Besides,_ [puts greatsword back inside her hair and pulls out Marco's dimensional scissors] _**I'm**_ _the one that needs to be protecting him._ ' she thought with a grin, before rushing at Prime's feet.

Star and Jackie were doing a good job of fending off Prime's attacks. Star, in her butterfly form, was flying around while shooting beams of magic at the being, dodging Prime's hands as she did. While Jackie shot fireballs when an opening was made by her cousin, further angering the cosmic being.

Higgs had planted both of her daggers into Prime's shadow, rooting him to the ground and disallowing him to move from the spot he was occupying. After that, she retreated and pulled a bow and arrows that was decorating the throne room and began to fire at the enraged being, but did little to no damage.

Kelly had taken Higgs's orders and was currently hacking at Prime's feet with Marco's dimensional scissors, that were now medium size flame twin swords. Prime let out an angered shout full of agony as Kelly had cut clean through one of his feet, causing him to stagger.

The tetrad of girls wasted no time in bombarding the being with their array of mixed attacks as it was off balanced and couldn't defend against them.

Star shot a massively concentrated mix of yellow and purple beam of magic at Prime, putting a whole through its abdomen. Jackie had slid and placed herself out of the being's line of sight and began to shoot streams of fire from her hands at Prime's other leg, puncturing it. The beams were so hot that the granite pillars behind its foot began to melt when they were struck by them. Having lost its ability to stand, Prime came crashing down onto the marble floor of the throne room.

Once the being landed on the floor, and shook the entire castle from the impact, Kelly positioned herself and threw both of the twin swords at Prime's chest, setting the creature ablaze.

The four ladies watched as the cosmic being writhed in agony as the fire continued to consume it, until there was nothing left but a scorch mark where Prime used to be.

All four of the girls fell to the ground, exhausted from the fight. Star and Jackie were even more so since they had taken the brunt of Prime's attacks and attention. They had the cuts and bruises to prove it since Star's dress was in tatters and Jackie had lost most of her armor, managing to only keep half of her chest-plate. Kelly and Higgs were also exhausted, and exchanged a quick smile with each other, even though their clothes were slightly tattered.

"That… That was… intense." Kelly finally said to no one in particular, still trying to catch her breath.

[Jackie looks over at Kelly] "G-Good work… with cutting off that bastards foot." Jackie said, also trying to catch her breath, earning a hoot of approval from a tired Star. [Kelly turns to Star] "'You know… you're… not so bad… when you're not trying… to take Marco from me." she said with a tired smile, causing Star to laugh. "I'll take that.. as a compliment." she replied, causing all of them to laugh.

"Don't you girls think that the fight was a little, I don't know, fast?" asked Jackie, quickly silencing the girls. "I know we are strong but I can't help but feel like something's off." she quickly added, causing the girls to give each other nervous glances after realizing how true Jackie's words were.

" **You are correct to assume that, Ms. Thomas.** " boomed a loud voice, startling the girls into

their fighting stances. A space rift opened near the ground in front of them and out came Omnitraxus Prime as if the last three minutes of fighting hadn't happened. The girls couldn't help but feel intimidated after seeing the foe they had just defeated come back completely unscathed. They also weren't at their best currently since they still held the pain and exhaustion from the fight, that seemed to have only affected them.

[chuckling] " **You girls should be proud. You four managed to defeat a clone of myself that held** _ **fifteen percent**_ **of my power.** [the girls looked astonished] **No need to look so surprised. I am a being made of pure cosmic energy so even if you** _ **somehow**_ **managed to fight me at my full power and** _ **win**_ **, I still wouldn't be killable.** " Prime finished with a booming laugh, causing the girls to cringe.

Before any of the girls could react, Prime shot a thin concentrated beam of cosmic energy through Jackie's and Star's legs, causing the girls to cry in agony. The beam had penetrated cleanly, going through flesh and bone as it made its way out.

" **Doesn't feel good huh?** [laughs and glances at the other girls] **Now to repay the other two.** " Prime said in a dark tone, causing Kelly and Higgs to tense up.

[convulsing from the pain] "O.. O..ne.. M..ore.. Min..nute" Jackie said through gritted teeth, before passing out from blood loss. Star tried to move, but another beam hit her on the arm she was supporting herself with, causing her to fall onto the floor. A pool of blood rapidly forming as her cries of excruciating pain echoed throughout the room, until she too passed out from blood loss.

[Turns towards Prime] "You BASTARD!" Kelly yelled. Prime chuckled and launched several beams of magic at Kelly and Higgs, barely managing to dodge them. Kelly frantically tried to dodge another barrage of beams but, when she tried to use a pillar as a stepping stone to jump over them, fell when the pillar crumbled at her touch. She fell into rubble that used to be the pillar and tried to get up, but realized she wouldn't make it in time when she saw the beams heading straight at her.

She closed her eyes and waited for her inescapable death, but right before her body was full of holes, the clock above thee doors rang loudly followed by a booming thunder clap that shook the entire castle, causing the windows to shatter.

It was 10 AM.

The flash of the thunder bolt began to fade, revealing that the spot Kelly had been in was completely obliterated with holes, but no sign of Kelly.

Kelly slowly opened her eyes when she felt that she was still alive, but quickly opened them when she felt that she wasn't touching the ground. A familiar warmth and scent caused her to look up and covered her mouth as she began to tear up.

It was Marco, carrying her in his arms as his blank gaze surveyed the area. He turned around, giving his back to Prime, and began to walk towards a bloody Jackie, Star, and Higgs. He gestured for Kelly to get off, which she did, and knelt down to check Star's and Jackie's pulses. Marco turned to a semi-conscious Higgs who was clutching her bleeding side.

"What happened?" he asked Higgs plainly.

[Grunts] "We fought Prime because he wanted to take the wand, and won. [Grunts] "B-But, it turned out to be a clone with f-fiteen percent of his power. Turns out [grunts] that he is a sneaky little bastard. [chuckles but coughs] He got Jackie and Star while we were all still trying to process what he told us. I [frowns] got clipped by one of his cosmic energy beams while trying to dodge them." Higgs said with labored breathing.

Marco nodded, while biting his lip and looked over his shoulder at Kelly, giving glances at Prime. "Kells, use my dimensional scissors and escape with the girls back to the guild. They need serious medical attention [throws her a small bag full of something] but these should stabilize them, for now."

Kelly was about to protest, when Marco shot her an angry look which stopped her from doing so, for a few seconds.

"Marco, I can't leave you alone with that [gestures to Prime] bastard! I'm stayi-"

[The air became dense] "Kelly, do what I just said. Our friends need aid, immediately, or they _will_ die. [pats her head] Don't worry about me right now." he said with a smile, causing Kelly's lips to tremble.

' _He's not planning on coming back… He had the same look when he left to his Trials._ ' she sadly thought.

Kelly walked up to Marco, giving him a passionate kiss which he returned, before opening a portal near herself. She placed Star on one shoulder and Jackie on her arms. Once she had a good handling of the two, she helped Higgs walk to the portal.

Before they walked through it, they looked back and gave Marco a sad smile. "You better [grunts] come back, Marco, or I will make you clean the entire guild for life." Higgs said with tears beginning to form in her eyes, as she walked through the portal.

Kelly wasn't crying. She couldn't or else she might not want to leave, so she steeled herself. "M-Marco… Come back to me, okay?... I love yo-"

[time seems to slow]

Out of the corner of his eye, Marco saw a beam heading towards Kelly's head. He realized that Prime had shot the beam the moment Marco had let his guard down, after hearing Kelly's pained voice, and knew he couldn't warn her in time or conjure up something to block it. Having no time to fully process a way to save Kelly, Marco did the only think he could think of.

He _blinked_ to Kelly, pushing her into the portal in the process. Kelly's face slowly contorted to one of pain and fear, eyes full of pain, as the last thing she saw while falling through the portal was the beam penetrating through Marco's chest, straight through the heart.

As the light in Marco's eyes began to fade, time began to resume its normal from.

"NOOOOOOO-" Kelly's agonizing yell was cut off as she fully went through the portal, closing behind her.

Marco's lifeless body hit the marble floor of the throne room with a noticeable thud, followed by a heavy silence. Omnitraxus Prime shook his head from the other side of the portal, vanishing seconds after, leaving the destroyed throne room.

A thunderclap was heard near the castle as it began to pour heavily, rain making its way into the now dark room thanks to the shattered windows. The room was suddenly illuminated by a blinding white light that encased the room in a warm glow, slowly fading. A white cross-shaped portal appeared in the middle of the throne room and out stepped a girl wearing black lipstick.

She looked around the room, seeing the mess, but stopped when she laid her eyes on Marco. The girl's hazel eyes began to water as she ran to him, sliding to him when she got close. She held his head close to her chest and wept.

[weeping] "I… I finally found you and y-you're d-dead? [brushes his hair] D-Don't worry, Mars, I-I'll bring you back. [stands up with Marco on her back and heads towards the white portal] I'll bring you back." she whispers, disappearing into the portal.

The portal closed.

The only sign of anyone being there was the blood of those that had escaped and… died. Leaving the room to go back into it's dark and silent self.

The rain hadn't let up and neither had the thunder.

The storm was just beginning.

 **A/N** : **Wow that was a crazy stuff right? Marco died, the girls are near death's door, and Prime got out scott free. Or did he? O.o And who's Mars? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it is a bit sad near the end and thanks a bunch for the continued support. It means the world to me. I would like to quickly mention that I have started another story set in the SVTFOE universe, so I hope you can all check it out. Well it's currently 2:30 AM for me currently so [yawns] I'm going to hit the hay. See you all next time. Peaceeee.**

 **P.S : 'Mars' is intentional, not a spelling mistake. lol**


	10. Suncrushed

**A/N** : **Wow! Once again I am speechless! This story has over 5000 views! (Crying) B-But enough of that, I have a lot to explain. For starters, sorry for the long wait but I was having immense writer's block. Second, this chapter will contain stuff about Marco's past, but not all of it lol sorry.** **This backstory stuff is a bit overdue but better late than never. Oh, and stuffs going to get** _**M rated**_ **, more bloody and such in the next chapter so yea, enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

* * *

 _ **It seems I was right to give you my blessing. Now you're out of the woods.**_

 _ **You may be asking yourself: 'Why would she go to such lengths for a nobody like me?' Well, it's quite simple.**_ **I** _ **decided to stick with you since the day we met and I won't be leaving your side until I complete the contract, which… you seemed to have forgotten all about. I don't blame you, Marco, since it has been so**_ **very long** _ **since then.**_

 _ **Consider this a gift from… a friend.**_

 _ **You, of all people, at least deserve to know where you come from, even a snippet of it, after all you've been through.**_

 _ **I'm… sorry for cursing you. It was never my intention… Sleep well, Marco. I'll be seeing you when you awaken.**_

 _ **I'm in no mood to slumber any longer.**_

 _ **It's time for you to…**_

* * *

 _(Earth Dimension)_

The Kingdom of the Sun, to the north, was one of three kingdoms that ruled over the dimension (planet) called Earth. The kingdom sat on top of a mountain overlooking the sea, homes of its citizens below, and the surrounding mountains as well as the forests in all its shining glory. In the middle was a three story tall golden European-style castle with three towers around it in a triangular formation. The massive area were everything stood upon was in a triangular shape, the floors covered in white marble trimmed with red along the edges. At each corner of the triangular area stood a temple. One of the temples, of the same architecture as the castle, was golden with prominent symbol of the Sun at the top of the massive doorway. The other temple was of a Roman Catholic Church-style that appeared as dark as a clear midnight sky, and had a prominent symbol of the Moon on top of its massive doors. The third one looked to be made out of massive clean cut slabs of white concrete, a mix of the other twos architecture, and had a prominent symbol of a mountain: Earth.

Everything seemed at peace until a wailing cry was heard from the Castle of the Sun. The wailing continued, seeming to be coming from the King and Queen's chambers. Inside, the chambers were modest, almost plain, but had the color red everywhere. On the bed was the Queen, looking very exhausted, cradling what seemed to be a baby who was not planning on stopping the incessant crying anytime soon. She was surrounded by a few doctors, her husband and a small girl that looked somewhat similar to the royals, except she had freckles and hazel eyes. The baby continued to cry.

[Everyone wincing] "Uhh, dear? His crying is amazingly loud, don't you think?" asked the King, everyone in the room nodding in agreement. The Queen looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Rafael, this is what babies _do_ when they are born. [Smiles and looks down at the baby] It means he's healthy, so you can send the doctors away. I got it from here." she said in a happy tone. The King sighed and did as his wife said. Once the room was cleared, he sat on the bed and squealed with absolute joy.

"I CAN'T [baby cries louder, earning a glare from his wife]... sorry. I just can't believe it, Angie, our first child! And a boy to boot! I knew the Sun goddess was listening when I prayed to her yesterday!" he said with a wide grin.

Angie simply shook her head at her husband, then noticed that the little girl was trying to get a better look at what was in her arms. "Would you like to see what my overly energetic husband is happy about, Samantha?" asked the Queen, earning a hesitant nod from the little girl. "Hey, it was due to me _energetic_ ways that made that baby. Besides, you weren't complaining that nigh-" he was silenced by a pillow to the face. " _Rafael._ There is a _child_ here, so calm yourself. [Turns to Sam] Come on, he doesn't bite, at least not yet." Angie said with a chuckle.

The little girl was hesitant at first but managed to get on top of the bed, shuffling her way over to the Queen. She hesitated at first, but then leaned over: brown meeting hazel. "Say hello to your new friend, Samantha. I can already tell that you two will be the best of friends." Angie said, followed by a beaming smile. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Uhmm… [puts baby in Samantha's arms] okay." She looked at the infant curiously and poked his cheek, causing the baby to giggle. Samantha instantly felt the warm of hearing a baby's giggle and untensed herself. She sat down, placing the baby in-between her legs in a protective manner, and looked at the Queen. "So what's his name, auntie?" asked the small girl.

The Queen looked at her husband, who gave her a warm smile, then looked back at Samantha. "His name is… Mars Ubaldo [the baby scrunched his face] Diaz, and he, as well as you my dear, will rule this kingdom _together_ when my husband and I step down." the Queen said with a small smile.

Samantha looked down at the now sleeping Mars, placing her hand on his head gently, and smiled. "I can't wait. [Turns to the Queen] Don't worry auntie, I'll protect him, even from uncle Gabriel." she said with smile, but had a sharp look in her eyes, causing the rulers to look at each other with worry. "How do you know about that Samantha?" the King asked. The girl turned to him and chuckled. "I may be a four year old but that doesn't mean that I don't know a threat when I see one. [Rubs neck nervously] I-I just want to be a good Queen, so why not start now?" the girl asked sheepishly.

Suddenly, the sound of someone clapping made everyone turn towards the direction of said sound. A little blue floating man, with a gem in his forehead and wearing loose garbs, came out from behind a curtain, holding a pudding cup.

The King and Queen smiled at the individual. "Hey, Glossaryck. Have you come to greet my son or have you come to report on how Mewni is doing?" the Queen asked. The little floating man turned to the Queen and smiled, dropping his now empty putting cup onto the expensive looking carpet. The King sighed. "Well, yes and no. [The rulers looked at him with confusion] Mewni is… doing well enough, for now. Moon still can't get over her hate for monsters and continues to fight in a pointless war. (Sighs) If only the Butterfly Kingdom where like this one when it came to politics." Glossaryck said deflatedly as he sat on the Queen's bed, her patting him on the back.

"Mewni has _always_ been rather brain dead when it comes to politics, Gloss… It's partially our fault for leaving Mewni in the hands of the Butterflies. Would you like us to take it back?" asked the Queen, causing the little blue man to laugh. "There's no need for that. Besides, if you wanted Mewni back, you would have taken it by now. I wouldn't be able to stop you, no one would. I also don't feel like undoing all my work of wiping your existence off the face of the entire universe and dimensions so _please_ don't." he said. The Queen laughed then nodded at him for making such obvious and unnecessary remarks. "So, what's the other reason you're here?" asked the Queen.

Glossaryck looked over to the baby, causing Samantha to embrace him in a protective manner. He looked back to the Queen. [Gestures to Samantha] "She's right you know. Gabriel is still out there and [gestures to the rulers] you two won't be strong enough to fight him when the time comes, but I have a… suggestion. [Turns to Samantha] I like you kid. Somehow you knew of something that only the Queen, King, and I knew of so you're going to be a crucial part for this to work. [Looks back to the rulers] First, I have to tell you the bad news and please wait until I'm done to ask me what I mean. It'll save time." said the blue man.

"Mars… will [clears throat] die when he is 17. I do not know how or what will kill him, but I do know that it will happen. It's inevitable." The King's face hardened, the Queen held in a gasp, and Samantha's eyes went wide at the the declaration. "Yeah, It's sad, I know. However, like I mentioned, I have a suggestion, if you'd like to hear it. [Everyone nodded] Mars can't stay here, because once the other kingdoms find out about him they'll try to do everything in their power to get one of their daughters engaged to him [glances at Samantha holding Mars] and I can already tell that you've found someone, who they will not approve of, for him so it'll complicate things. Also, Gabriel is still alive." The Queen slowly nodded, while the King sat down on the bed and brushed his hair back slowly. "I suggest that you put Mars in Mewni and- don't give me that look Angie, let me finish- I'll watch over him and will only intervene if his life is in danger, until he reaches 17 that is. I can't stop his death, no one can." he said somberly.

"So you just expect me and my husband to **abandon** _our son_ in Mewni, a place in no shortage of _war_ and _death_ , and wait with my feet and hands crossed until his _inevitable death_?!" yelled the Queen, startling everyone. Sensing his mother's distress, the baby began to cry. "You have some nerve suggesting that, Glossaryck. Friend or not, I won't hesitate to kill _anyone_ who puts my son in danger." the King said to the little blue man, through gritted teeth, causing him to sigh.

"Look, I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't think that it was the best course of action, considering the fact that the other two kingdoms want to gain favor with you, at any means necessary plus a crazy demi-god. There's no reason to cause this dimension any unnecessary troubles that _will_ _come_ if Mars stays here. You can't deny that I'm right on that regard."

They were silent.

He chuckled, causing them to turn to him with looks of confusion. " _I_ _wasn't_ _finished_. [Gestures to Samantha] She's going to be the one to save your son." he said with a smile. Everyone, even the baby, turned to the four year old girl. "M-Me?!" asked the girl nervously. "Yes, my dear Samantha, you are the one who will save Mars by bringing him back." - "B-But how?" - "Well, in this kingdom, when someone reaches the age of 17 their magic potential is know, and their body goes through an internal change to accommodate said potentials manifestation. Samantha, I can already tell that your potential will be greater than the Queen's, and so can she, so all you have to do is train _a lot_ to reach her level to be able to perform a spell that can bring someone back. [Turns to the Queen, who's shocked] You have something like that, right Angie?" Glossaryck asked. The Queen seemed to be deep in though so her husband answered for her by giving him a nod. "The catch is that it has to be performed by Angie and someone of equal or greater power and the… _dead_ individual _must not_ surpass a minute of being dead. The spell won't work otherwise. That's as much as I know anyway." Rafael said sadly.

Glossaryck nodded and floated over to Samantha, leaning in as if to whisper something. [Whispering] "This is between you and me, okay kid? [She nods] Good. So, there's more bad news. Mars magic potential will be… non-existent and, unless my clairvoyance is wrong, it won't awaken. However, something will happen if he comes back to this dimension. I don't know what that _something_ is though… Lips sealed, okay? They have enough to worry about." She gave him a sad nod, and went back to distracting Mars.

Glossaryck floated back to the other two and cleared his throat to get their attention. Once he had it, he began to speak, "Angie. Rafael. I have to go back to Mewni before my very annoying space-time 'child' realizes I'm gone. This dimension may be shielded from the eyes of everyone, thanks to the deal you all made with old man **Chaos** , but I rather not risk it."

They nodded and gestured for Samantha to bring Mars to the King. He took him in his arms and nuzzled him, trying not to cry. "O-Okay, l-listen my son... You will be in an... unknown place and face things you may not understand, but hopefully... you r-remember that your family is waiting for you and will continue to send their love to you…" he embraced him one last time before handing him to his wife while not making eye contact. Angie held her son in trembling arms, but then the trembling stopped. "Could you two give me and Samantha some time with Mars. It's a girl thing." After they left the room, Angie handed the baby over to Samantha, causing the girl to become confused.

"B-But a-auntie!? Surely you would like these few moments with your son before-" - "Don't worry about me, Samantha, I'll be fine… My son may not grow up with his family but that doesn't mean that I won't _at least_ give him the benefit of the doubt that he will be _**okay**_ … J-Just h-hold him f-for me-e… I d-don't think… I will have the s-strength to… let him g-go." [Wipes tears and sits on the bed, silent] After a few seconds of silence, she turns to Samantha and smiles, face covered in tears. Samantha could tell that she was having second thoughts about the situation. "A-Auntie… don't… don't tell Glossaryck I told you but he told me that Mar's magic potential is incredible… so incredible in fact that when he turns 17, he will be stronger than you. So please, cheer up." she said with a small smile. The Queen returned the smile and nodded.

She walked over to a drawer and pulled out a silver clover necklace from it. She went up to the rooms door and opened it. Her husband came tumbling in, as well as Glossaryck. "I told you she would notice. She's the Queen you dummy." said an annoyed magical being. Once they got up, Angie gestured for Samantha to come over. She took the baby from her and handed a now sleeping Mars, that had the necklace around his neck, to Glossaryck.

It quickly dawned on the parents that they were handing over their _first born child_ so he could grow up and die on a foreign land to him. He noticed the looks they had and decided to add another piece of insurance to calm their fears, if even a little. "Okay, I can see that you're still hesitant and I can't blame you. For that reason, I am willing to add someone else to the 'Mars Protection Agency', which I totally did not just make up." - "And who would be trustworthy enough to keep our son out of harm's way?"- "Well, remember that clan that worshiped wolves and some select few that even had the ability to tap into the lycan power pool? [Angie nodded, while Rafael rolled his eyes] It so happens that they have a strong base of operations now, called a guild, kind of what you have in this dimension. Anyways, I personally know the leader of the guild and she can look after Mars on the ground of Mewni, while I look over him from a distance. Trust me, she's very capable and certified for watching over your son. She could take down an entire army in her sleep. In fact, she has done that! She just had a daughter last year so Mars will have a friend while growing up, as well as even more protection. So, [sighs] is that better?"

Angie looked at her husband, who closed his eyes and nodded, and sighed. "Alright, that seems like a solid plan [expression hardens and pupils change] BUT, if I find out that my son went through unnecessary suffering and heartache, _I will_ _come down to Mewni_ _ **myself**_ _and level the entire dimension and you'll be_ _ **next,**_ as well as that _**pathetic excuse**_ of a Magic High Commission, _especially_ Omni. I still haven't' forgotten what he did to my husband. Now go before I change my mind." Angie said through gritted teeth, eyes turning a golden hue.

Glossaryck sighed and nodded. He had no idea what it felt like to be a parent giving up their only child, but he knew that Angie and Rafael were hurting, even Samantha, so he didn't take the threat to heart. He was about to turn around and leave but stopped when he felt someone hold onto his leg. The little blue man looked down and saw Samantha, who gestured for him to come down to her level, which he did.

She planted a kiss on the baby's head, leaving a cross shaped mark that vanished as soon as it appeared. [Whispering] "I-It's a tracking mark so when the time comes I could find him… yeah." she said timidly, causing the magical being to laugh. "Sure it is."

He turned around, opened a portal, and stepped through it. Angie instantly dropped to her knees and punched the marble floor, cracking it.

The entire Kingdom heard bloodcurdling wails, followed by a heavy downpour that lasted an entire week, completely blocking out the Sun.

That day was forever known in the kingdom as... 'Suncrushed.'

* * *

 _ **I know their reasoning for letting you go seems half baked, but there's a lot more to it than what I have shown you, I can assure you… Your family continues to wait for you to return to them Marco, even if… even if you don't consider them to be your real family at the moment. However, I would advise you to hear them out before making any rash decisions. Who am I kidding? Of course you're going to listen to them! It's your**_ **nature** _ **, your**_ **entire** _**character, to be considerate, but we both know that kindness has its limits and can only do so much. Now…**_

 _ **Wake up~**_

 _ **Wake up, my champion~**_

 _ **There's much to be done and you can't save your precious Kelly by laying around all- Oh, that seems to have done the trick. ***_ _chuckles_ _ *** I guess she really is your kryptonite… as well as your Sun.**_

 _ **Now, wake up~**_

 _ **Time for you to face the music, this case being your family.**_

* * *

Marco shot awake and groaned when he felt how sore his chest was. ' _I guess Prime got a lucky shot…'_ He surveyed his surroundings and came to the conclusion that he was in a royalty suite since no normal room would have sheets made out of gold.

How was that even a thing?

He leaned back against the bed's headrest and sighed. "This certainly doesn't feel like I'm in Mewni anymore. Now where the heck am I?" he asked out loud. He decided to check his body for anything out of the ordinary, and everything seemed fine, except for a scar that was now over his heart… which appeared to be fading by the second. ' _Okay? That's not weird._ ' He wasn't wearing his usual clothes. In fact, he wasn't wearing _anything_.

Suddenly, an explosion shook the entire castle, making him groan. Marco got up and put on whatever he found in the golden cabinets which wasn't much, surprisingly. Besides boxers, he walked out of the room wearing beige cargo shorts, a red tank top with the Sun symbol above the middle of his chest, and open toe sandals. ' _I guess this is how royalty dresses here._ ' Another explosion shook the castle, bringing him out of his thoughts. He raised his palm and out came a blue flame, making him smile until he sensed something in his head. " _ **It seems you're in better spirits. Are you not worried about this whole thing? Of what I've shown you?**_ " asked a soothing voice in his head, causing him to frown. ' _I forgot you were here…_ ' He turned towards the direction that the sound had came from and sighed. He stretched his muscles, limbs, popped a few of his aching joints, and sprinted down the castle's lavish hallway.

* * *

When Marco had finally found the place and opened the unnecessarily excessive decorated gilded doors, he went wide-eyed. He was not expecting to see the woman who was his 'mother' from what he was shown, to be having a magic battle with a floating blue man which he recognized to be Glossaryck? " _ **Oh that's rich! Seeing such an ancient but powerful being pushed back by a human is a riot!"**_ Marco surveyed the situation and noticed that there wasn't much to look at since what he guessed to be a throne room was in shambles. It looked somewhat like the ones he had seen in Mewni, except this had a ceiling that reached even higher and in the middle was a mosaic of a Sun with a green and blue orb and moon orbiting it.

He switched back to the scene in front of him and barely noticed that there was someone walking from behind him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face the owner, dark brown meeting hazel.

"Y-You're awake! You should get some more rest after you… [clears throat] so go get some rest." The freckled girl said with a forced smile, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Marco turned back to the fight and shrugged her hand off, walking towards the fighting magical being and his 'mother'. "W-Wait, Mars! It's dangerous!" she yelled from behind him.

As he slowly walked up to them, Angie shot a golden stream from her hands which struck Glossaryck midair in the face, sending him crashing into a pillar. He got up, shook his head, and sighed. His body was covered in bruises and swollen tissue, while Angie was perfectly fine. "Please listen to me, Angie. Your son is perfectly fine so plea-" . " _Silence! I warned you of what would happen if he went through unnecessary suffering! He was experimented on, [throws a golden lightning bolt, staggering him when he tried to block], tortured, [throws another bolt hitting him directly] and Helios knows what else!_ " she yelled, raising her hands above her head, beginning to form a massive lighting bolt. The crackle of the electricity intensified; the smell of burning ozone increased with it, permeating through the entire room.

She hurled the fifteen-foot long bolt at Glossaryck. The little blue man didn't appear to try to block it and just stood there, waiting. Before the bolt could reach him, Marco appeared in front of it but, before it could hit him, the girl from earlier appeared in front of him. She raised her hand towards the bolt and a six-foot tall white holy cross appeared in front of her, taking the blunt of the hit, causing a blinding explosion.

Once everyone's eyesight cleared, the room fell silent. " _ **Wow~ Looks like you get ladies no matter the dimension without even trying huh, stud~**_ " Marco ignored the comment and walked up next to the girl. He noticed that her hands were shaking and her breathing was labored, probably from how much power that thing was packing. [Not facing her] "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that. I had it under control. [Looking at Angie] You should be more careful. You could have killed someone, or yourself." he said with no emotion. Angie's eyes appeared to be have a hint of gold to them but disappeared instantly when her son finished his sentence. She just stared at him with a sad and guilty expression, unable to speak.

" _ **Ohh~ Mind if I get out and stretch? It's comfy in here but it's cramped.**_ " whined the soothing voice. Marco sighed and shrugged to himself, which everyone noticed. His mother narrowing her eyes at him. ' _Sure, but don't cause any trouble for me, okay?_ _I'm_ _ **not**_ _in the mood._ ' " _ **Ohhh~ Scaryyy~**_ " Suddenly, a woman wearing a flowing red transparent Greek dress that had golden bands around her wrists and ankles appeared from thin air besides Marco. If it weren't for the hoodie that looked a lot like Marco's then her sensitive parts would be visible for the entire world to see. " _ **Hello everyone. I'm Selene, Goddess of the Moon, also known as 'The Blood Moon Goddess' on Mewni and**_ [pokes Marco's cheek] _**he's mine~. Now who wants to introduce themselves next?**_ " she said soothingly.

It went quiet.

Marco moved away from Selene and walked up to Angie, stopping a foot away from her. "Tell me _everything_. I'm pressed for time and I have to get back to Mewni." he said plainly. She sighed and crossed her arms. "You're going to have to wait for your father in order to hear everything. As for you leaving," her clothes turned into a golden sundress, radiating power and heat, "I can't allow that. I've done that mistake once, and I'm not about to do it again." she said with determination.

"B-But auntie! You can't fight your son!" exclaimed the freckled girl. "Don't interfere, Samantha. I'm sure my son has a lot of steam to get out of his system for how irresponsible his parents were. It's our fault he went through what he did." Angie said sadly, causing Selene to chuckle.

" _ **Actually, that wasn't technically your fault. It was Moons. She's the one that gave the green-light for those experiments to happen.**_ [Turns to Glossaryck] _**Isn't that right, Gloss?**_ " she said with a devilish smile. "ENOUGH!" yelled Marco, silencing Selene who squeaked, and faced Angie. "I've been without parents my _entire life_ , and I don't need them to protect me. My family is back in Mewni, who by the way thinks I'm _dead_!… [Sighs and brushes his hair back] Sorry, sorry. It's just… I need to get back, as soon as possible. I have some unfinished business there." he said with hints of anger.

Angie looked at him, her eyes softening but quickly hardening. "I'm sorry, Mars, but I can't let you leave." Samantha walked in between the two, back facing Angie. "Mars, _please_. Don't go… Your home is here. [Points at herself, Angie, and a portrait of Rafael somewhere in the room] Your _family_ is here." Her voice cracking as she said that.

Marco gave her a sad look and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Samantha, but I can't stay… Tell you what, if you or [points to Angie] you tell me the reasons why I was _abandoned_ then I'll _consider_ living here after I finish my business in Mewni. I like the warmth. As for my _mother_ , I'm sticking to my earlier statement: I don't need you to protect me and would like to avoid any fighting here. I would highly advise you to not fight me. It won't be pretty."- " _ **He's right you know!**_ "- "Samantha, same goes for you. I can take care of myself but I appreciate the gesture. Recently, I was shown a bit of what happened the day I was born and I know you and I were supposed to rule this kingdom together or something, but I can't help you with that the way you want... I already have someone back in Mewni… I'm sorry." he said sadly.

Samantha's expression fell and was replaced by a sharp gaze. Her hazel eyes began to turn into cloudy silver, her hair began to turn gold and the air in the throne room felt heavy. Marco sensed waves of bloodlust rolling off of her and was genuinely surprised. ' _Wow. She's worse than Kelly…_ '- " _ **Hey don't get turned on by it Marco! You sicko!**_ " yelled Selene with a smirk. The air suddenly changed back to normal and he noticed that Samantha had turned back to her usual self, but was blushing. ' _She really is pretty, especially in those pants. Wow, what a body_ … _no, focus._ ' He then heard laughing and turned to Selene. " _ **Wow, you just blurted that out loud**_." she said with a smirk, causing Marco to turn a little red.

' _Fuck._ '

He turned back to Samantha, who was not making eye contact with him and was blushing a deep tomato red, causing him to blush a little bit more. After a few seconds he cleared his throat and walked past a blushing Samantha to get to Angie. "Alright, when can we begin story time?" he said with sarcasm. Suddenly, the main doors of the throne room that led outside were thrown open and a man that looked close to an older Marco stepped in.

"We can begin right now since your father has just arrived."

Marco was suddenly tackled to the ground.

* * *

 **A/N** **: Wow, that was something. Again, sorry for the late chapter but at least it's here so yay... right? Anyway, thanks again for all the continued support even if I'm a terrible writer and an even worse updater lol, it means a lot. Now I have to start on my other story so see you all next time! Peaceeee!**

 **P.S : Glossaryck looks like his canon self. Angie is wearing what she would usually wear in the canon. I'll explain why in the next chapter. Samantha is wearing what I originally described her wearing in the chapter: "** _ **The Surface.**_ " **As for Rafael, well you will all see next time lol.**


	11. Compromise

**A/N** **: OMG! Thanks so much for getting this story over 7700 views and the support! That's insane! This chapter is long overdue but school takes a huge chunk of my time. This weekend is the first weekend in forever that I don't have a writing assignment due… does this count as one? Oh, thanks for the comments and feedback! Lol anyways here you go, hope you enjoy! As for the M rated stuff, not yet. But soon.**

 **Disclaimer** **:** _ **I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky**_

* * *

Marco was surprised, to say the least, on being bear-hugged by his father. If it weren't for years of body training, his body would have snapped in two due to how much force the bigger man was using to hug him. The crazy, and somewhat scary, thing was that Kelly's strength surpassed the King's, in Marco's eyes anyway.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! MY SON HAS FINALLY RETURNED!" exclaimed Rafael with the glee of a child as he lifted him. Marco seemed to relax into his embrace with how warm and soothing it felt. Before he knew it, he was hugging his father back, much to everyone's surprise after hearing his words earlier.

The hug felt nice, but his body was still sore so it was starting to hurt. Luckily for him, Angie appeared next to them and separated the two with ease.

"Rafael, our son still hasn't fully recovered from his injuries so please behave yourself." said the Queen with a smile. The King looked sad but instantly bounced back, his energy warming up the room as if a battle hadn't occurred in the throne room before he arrived.

"R-Right! Sorry my boy. [Glances at his wife then at Marco] I'm just so happy that we can finally be a family again!" he said with a beaming smile.

Now that Marco could get a better look at the King, he wasn't too surprised at his outfit. He was wearing a red button up shirt with black pants, nothing too fancy. Marco couldn't help but return the smile after looking at his dad again, but then remembered the topic that needed to be discussed and frowned. The King noticed this and turned to his wife for answers as to why his son's mood changed.

"[Sighs] Dear, it's time we told Marco why we sent him away…" the Queen said with a sad smile. Her husband frowned, expecting the situation to be something along those lines but did they have to discuss it now? They had just gotten their son back so why talk about depressing things? Now was the time for celebration, not _that_!

"We can discuss those matters later. [Turns to Marco and smiles] Now we must celebrate our son's return!" Marco looked at his mother, who shook her head at him as if saying "that's the way he is." As much as he wanted to get out of this dimension, which he could due to his abilities, he still needed to know the dimensions location and being rude wouldn't help his situation.

"I **can't** stay. I need to go back to Mewni and tell my friends and family that I'm **not** dead. I have some unfinished business there that requires I return as quickly as possible, but I'll _consider_ living here if I'm told the reasons why I was abandoned… by my parents." Marco said with a neutral tone, causing his father to frown and his mother to look down towards the ground in shame.

"Consider living here? Wha- But this is your _home_ and your family is HERE! I do not want to hear anymore crazy talk about you leaving to that backwards dimension, you understand?" He said in an angry tone, causing Marco to look at him in disbelief. ' _Screw being polite!_ ' he suddenly thought.

"Why are you getting angry at _me_ for!? Must I remind you that **I** was the one who was sent away by my so called 'family' so _you_ have **no right** to be angry! [Inhales sharply] If you don't want to tell me the reasons then _fine_. I've lived my entire life not knowing so I'm pretty sure I can live the rest of my life just fine without them. [Glances at Glossaryck] I can leave at any time, anyway." Marco said as calmly as he could.

The Queen seeing the two most important men in her life arguing, and possibly fighting, decided to step in. She placed a hand on her husbands shoulder, causing him to relax a little. "Rafael, our son needs to know this and doesn't seem adamant in taking no for an answer. [Turns to her son] Please understand your father's point of view, as well as mine. We haven't seen you in _years_ and, once we got you back, you were dead… Now, you want to leave without spending any time with us…"

As much as Marco wanted to not let her words affect him, they did. Selene was right. He was **too** considerate… but was that a bad thing? He wanted to continue hating his parents for not allowing him to have a regular life and for being a reason for his suffering… _but_ he wouldn't have experienced and met the people that he did if things were different.

Right?

' _Do I regret the things that I've done and experienced?…_ [A smile slowly appeared on his face] _Of course not, well maybe meeting Selene,-_ " _ **Hey!"**_ _\- I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for their decision. Plus, they seem to be genuinely sorry for what they did. Maybe he was getting too soft?'_ he chuckled as he finished his thought, causing his parents to look at him oddly.

Sam walked up next to Marco and noticed that all the tension in him was _almost_ completely gone, surprising her. Selene also appeared next to him, giving him a motherly smile, which Angie noticed and shot a quick glare towards the moon goddess.

Marco had arrived at an answer that _may_ make all parties happy, if he played his cards right anyway. "You three want me to be the King of this place, which I'm not entirely against, and don't want me to leave, correct? [They nod] Alright, let's do this then: let's have a friendly sparring match between the current King and Queen vs. the future rulers. If Sam and I lose then I will stay here, become King and… forget about my life in Mewni."

The King and Queen gave each other a quick look of concern. "And what if you win?" asked the Queen with a raised eyebrow. Marco smiled, causing the rulers to become suspicious, "then I will be told the reasons _why_ you sent me away, the _**real**_ reasons, and I _will return_ to Mewni to finish some business… then I'll return here... I think some time with my parents to catch up after all is said and done will be quite… nice." he said with a small smile.

Angie could not understand why her son would offer the things that he did. In both scenarios he ends up coming back to Earth and leaving Mewni. The first option was what they wanted but knew would make him unhappy, but safe, while the other would allow him to get closure and come home on good terms. That's all she truly wanted, for him to be happy and it seems that this sparring match would allow everyone to release some tension in the process, clearing the air, so it was a good idea. He might also come around on the idea of being King on his own. ' _He didn't give us a reason to decline, while getting what we both want in the process…_ [smiles] _he's going to make a fine King someday._ ' Angie thought.

She looked over to her husband and saw that he too had a smile on his face, probably thinking the same thing as her. "[Looks at Marco] Alright, son, what are the rules?" she asked with a grin. Marco gestured for the floating blue man to come over, which he did without hesitation. "Glossaryck will be the judge and the rules are simple: have _fun_. The first one who submits or the judge deems the loser, well, loses." he said with a cheeky smile. His parents nodded and walked a few feet away, talking to each other in low voices, while Glossaryck slowly floated after them. Marco turned to Samantha and a suspiciously quiet Selene, noticing that the hazel eyed girl had a sad look in her eyes. " _ **So what do you want me to do?**_ " Marco looked at her and sighed, "You're going to go watch, since I don't want to use your powers in this. ' _It'll probably be unfair if I did._ ' [Spots a chair away from them that isn't destroyed] Go sit over there and try too behave, okay?" She winked at him, " _ **Okayyy~ my champion... Be careful.**_ ' she said with slight concern, which was odd.

Once the moon goddess was out of earshot he flicked Samantha's forehead, causing her to snap out of her stupor. "So, what's wrong?" he asked.

She looked at him and frowned. "I don't want you to go back to Mewni… I don't **care** what your business there is, Mars, _especially_ after what happened… Sorry, you may have compromised with uncle and auntie, but I won't let you go back… _I can't_."

Marco scratched the back of his head as he looked at her determined eyes and sighed. "I knew I wouldn't be able to convince you, which is why I'll make a deal with you. But, before that, tell me why you call my parents auntie and uncle because if that's true then that would mean I'm your cousin and that's…"

Samantha realized what he was getting at and rolled her eyes with emphasis. "We aren't blood related if that's what you're trying to get at… I call your parents that because I'm the daughter of one of your mom's friends who wasn't exactly from a noble family. [Looks at Marco's parents, a sad smile growing on her face] They took me in once my mom… passed away and I never knew my dad so I'm kind of an orphan? [Looks back to Marco] Huh, I guess you and I aren't that different when it comes to knowing our parents." she said sadly.

Marco suddenly hugged her, surprising everyone in the room, and began to pet her head slowly. She began to cry silently shortly after. "Hey hey, don't worry. I won't leave you alone to rule this place, [chuckles] even if I don't have a single clue on what's going on in this dimension." he said, causing her to chuckle as well. "In fact, my deal is more of a proposition. Want to hear it?"

She wiped a few tears from her eyes and nodded. "Okay, but before that, how about you tell me [points at forehead] about that mark you gave me when I was a baby?" he said with a smug smile, causing her to blush furiously.

"I-I d-don't k-know, what y-you're talking about Mars…"

Marco chuckled at her reaction, which only caused her to blush harder. She jumped a little when she felt his warm hand on her bare shoulder, since she wasn't wearing her jacket. She turned to face him and saw that he was smiling at her, warming her heart instantly. "Samantha, I know what the mark you put on me does and I'm flattered. Truly, I am. It's not everyday that a girl as beautiful as you claims a loser like me."

"L-Loser? You!? Have you looked in a mirror before, Mars? [Scoffs] I know what you're doing, talking yourself down, and no I'm not going to remove the mark. If you want me to remove it then your _**little girlfriend**_ and **I** can _discuss_ it." Samantha said in a cold tone.

Marco simply rolled his eyes at her, "I wasn't going to tell you to remove it because I plan on ruling this place in order to avoid any unnecessary problems in the future. [She blushes furiously again at his statement] I don't know about marriage, though... But, I do need to go back to Mewni and take care of things before I can even think about that."

"S-So what's your proposal, Mars?" Samantha asked with rosy cheeks, trying to change the subject.

"Well [taps chin] I was going to propose that you come back to Mewni with me and cover my back since I can tell you're strong. It'll also help things move along faster that way. Plus, you can keep a _close eye_ on me too. Oh, and you can meet my _girlfriend_." he said with a smirk, causing one of the freckled girl's eyes twitch.

" **Fine, you have yourself a deal.** " she said with a smile that radiated killing intent. ' _I'm sorry, Kelly, hopefully I can calm her down on the way back._ ' he quickly thought.

He noticed that his parents had stopped whispering to each other, so figured that they were ready to start. Glossaryck floated in between both groups and was about to signal the start of the match when a thought popped into his head: ' _Wait… I don't have a plan._ '

The floating blue man signaled for the start of the match to begin and teleported out of the crossfire, if there was any.

No one had moved an inch since his retreat.

Marco glanced between his parents and figured: what was the harm in being reckless… for now. "Samantha, sit it out okay? I want to try something." he whispered at his partner, who didn't look happy.

"Are you **insane**! You may be strong, Mars, but there's no way you can take on both of your parents! They are almost godlike with how strong they are! So stop this nonse-"

"If they are godlike, then this will make it easier for me. Now sit back and [closes his eyes] enjoy… the… show…"

Before Samantha could comment on what in the hell he was doing, the room's temperature shot through the roof, followed by a blinding light! She had to take a few steps back since the heat, that seemed to be coming from the Marco, was blistering hot. She also shielded her eyes unless she wanted to risk being permanently blind.

' _ **Ohhhh, he's going to start in that form huh. I haven't seen this form since… that day in the woods, even if it was for a split second. It seems he wants to be experimental.**_ [Smiles] _**I'm happy to have raised such a wonderful young man. Now… let's see how they are going to react.**_ ' she thought.

The blinding light began to dissipate until everything went back to normal, well almost everything. Once Marco's parents saw how he looked they couldn't hold back their shock, because he had activated an ability that belonged to their family only.

The ability to harness the power of the Sun, a star.

In Marco's case, it was that of a blue giant star since blue flames engulfed and danced around his body. That wasn't the only thing that was different about him. His temporary clothes had changed to that of a clean and open white robe, that had black lining along the edges, with a black 'shirt' underneath that seemed to be made of flames. His skin looked almost fluid thanks to how the blue-white flames moved around him. He looked…

Divine.

Glossaryck couldn't help but smile at the sight, since he had watched the boy grow and seen what he had to go through to reach to that point of power. However, that was a sad tale for another time…

Samantha, on the other hand, felt her chest burning at the sight. The mark that connected both of them, thanks to her, was going haywire due to the intensity that Marco was giving off. She didn't feel pain from the mark, but instead felt a soothing warmth course throughout her body, causing her to let out a sigh of bliss.

She noticed that Marco looked jaw dropping _hot_ \- amazing, a blush rising on her cheeks. Selene saw her reaction, a smug look on her face. ' _ **Wow, his power is getting her**_ **that** _ **bothered?**_ [Chuckles] _**Wait until he gets serious, little girl, because you'll faint with**_ **ecstasy** _ **when he does.**_ _ **I know I almost did.**_ ' the goddess thought with a smirk.

Marco slowly opened his eyes and looked at his parents, noticing that they were smiling. They were expecting him to return the smile but became worried when he had a blank stare, pitch black eyes, and a face showing no emotion. Before they could ask what was wrong, Marco appeared before both of them which made them feel uneasy for a quick second.

"So, are you two ready?" he said in a deep tone.

Both of his parents jumped back a few feet, transforming somewhat similar to how he had moments ago except that they were different, more polished. The King's form was a red-orange, still keeping his attire intact, with a glowing symbol of the sun in the middle of his chest. His eyes portrayed absolute confidence and power.

As for the Queen, she went back to her golden sundress form, radiating most of the power (and heat) between the two royals.

The goddess's voice began to seep itself back into Marco's mind. ".. _ **Be careful, Marco. We both know you can't-**_ ". "I know, so don't worry so much, Selene… I prefer my _other_ form anyway." he replied back to her in his mind.

The King, seeing his son distracted, decided to test his reflexes by catching him off guard with a blazing punch. However, before it could connect with Marco's chest, he dodged it by side-stepping it at the last second. The King threw another punch, with greater speed, forcing Marco to block it with his palm.

"[Smiling] It seems my son is a fighter, just like his old man. Now, let's have some fun!" the King said, while trying to sweep Marco's legs from under him. Luckily, Marco jumped up in time to evade the attack.

The King used the opportunity of Marco being in the air, for a slight second, to grab his arm and pull his son towards his fist. The fiery fist made contact with Marco's face, sending him flying into an already broken pillar.

"RAFAEL! Be careful! He's still healing-". "Oh relax, dear. He'll be fine… I hope."

Before the Queen could scold her husband further for being careless, the rubble that Marco's projectile body had caused began to stir. He emerged from his father's attack… unscathed.

"Wow, father. You really know how to throw a punch. [Pops neck joint] How about I get... a little serious?" Marco said with a grin, which worried both parents.

Before they could respond, Marco was already face to face with the King, surprising him with how fast he had appeared. He instinctively threw a punch at his son, but punched nothing but air. He felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to turn around.

His eyes, as well as his wives, were the size of dinner plates at seeing how fast their son was compared to them. They had godlike powers that were rivaled by no other except for three other individuals, but their son had just made it onto that list.

"As much fun as it would be to duke it out with you, father, how about [gestures to the Queen] you two come at me together? Or are you two _afraid_?" Marco teased.

This caused the King to huff out in slight annoyance at his son's comment. Angie couldn't believe that her son knew what buttons to push on his father to get what he wanted. The Queen rolled her eyes as she made her way over to her husband, already knowing what his answer was going to be.

"Mars, honey, don't push yourself. You're still injured and-" Angie's worrying stopped once she saw her son's reassuring smile.

"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. Besides, this is just for fun. [Smirks] I wouldn't want to hurt you guys." he said in a deep and sarcastic tone. Both parents gave each other a quick glance, and readied themselves to face off against their son… what a weird family reunion.

Marco felt a sudden pang in his chest, but quickly dismissed it. He had to stay focused or he might-.

The first one to strike was the King, who tried to sweep his legs again. However, he didn't jump up to dodge it and instead took the hit, surprising his parents. The even more surprising thing was that he didn't even _flinch_.

Selene saw Samantha's jaw drop, causing the goddess to silently chuckle.

The Queen hurled a massive lighting bolt, bigger than the one she was going to use on Glossaryck, at her son. Right before it could make contact with Marco, he slapped it away without breaking a sweat or even looking in her direction.

His father, thinking he was distracted from the hit, grabbed him by the arm and tried to judo flip him over his shoulder but…

Marco didn't budge.

The larger man couldn't move his son from the spot he has been standing on since the start of their sparring. The Queen noticed her husband's struggling so she went to help him, but was astonished to see her son throw his father towards her. She barely managed to catch him, being pushed back from the force behind the throw.

"[Huffs] H-He really is our son Rafael. I haven't seen you get _thrown_ like that since we lived in Mewni… Rafael? [Looks down at her husbands face then back at her son] Mars, what did you do to your father?" Angie said with anger, slowly rising, in her voice.

"... I-I pressed down on a pressure point on his neck so… [staggers a bit] he'll be conscience in about.. now." Rafael stirred in her arms, a look of absolute confusion plastered his face. "Wha- What happened?" he asked.

Angie gave her husband a pat on the shoulder with a smirk on her face. "Your _son_ beat you without breaking a sweat, Rafael. He hasn't even _moved_ from that spot. [Looks at her son] Hun, are you okay?" her mother asked worriedly. Her husband, once he noticed the change in his son's posture, shared the same sentiment as his wife.

Before either of them could ask anything else, Marco's divine form began to fade away. He staggered and was on his way towards hitting the ground, face first, but was saved by Selene's embrace.

" _ **I told you to be careful.**_ (Sighs) _**What am I going to do with you**_?" she said with motherly concern. Marco was using her shoulder as a support since he was too weak to stand on his own.

Using that power did always drain him…

He looked at Selene and gave her reassuring smile, but she saw right through him. The goddess squeezed his shoulder, causing Marco to whimper out in pain. " _ **Yeah, tough guy. Come on, let's sit you down before you or I collapse because you're not exactly light 'safe kid' and my arms are getting tired.**_ " she whined, but then shot him a playful smirk.

"[Grunts] La-Laugh it up. (Glances at Glossaryck) S-So, who won?" he asked shakily. The little magical man floated over to him and flicked him on the forehead, which Selene frowned upon. "With the way things were going, I'd say you kid but the Queen was still up and-"

"No. My son won, Glossaryck. If he weren't hurt, or going _easy_ on us, then I'm sure he would have beaten us… But are you okay, hun?" she asked with heavy concern as she walked towards her son, followed by her husband. Marco, now managing to stand up straight, nodded.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine. I just feel a little drained. (Looks over at Selene) I'm sorry. I should have been more careful." he said with a guilty expression. The goddess rolled her eyes at him, and smacked him on the top of his head with a smile.

" _ **Next time you do that I'm going to restrict your Kelly privileges**_." she said with a smirk. " _ **Now come on, I'm sure your parents have something to discuss with you and the sooner they do the sooner we can see your favorite psychotic girl**_ **."**

Marco simply smiled. The thought of seeing Kelly and the rest of his friends was certainly uplifting. The fact that they were in danger and needed his help also fueled his need to go back as soon as possible.

Samantha saw him smile at what Selene had said and felt a pang of sadness in her chest, but quickly suppressed it. ' _Now is not the time to feel sad or jealous... I_ _ **need**_ _to be there to take care of Mars_ _and I won't let anything or_ _ **anyone**_ _get in my way._ '

* * *

 _* **Back in Mewni: a couple days after Marco 'dies'** *_

Toffee paced back and forth, with an aggressive stride.

He was not happy. Not at all.

He just couldn't believe that Marco, the boy who took hits from _him_ like a champ, had… been killed.

The news of his death traveled fast. He didn't want to believe the rumors and whispers and neither did his wife, _especially_ his little girl.

However, when the Lycan's Guild leader _personally_ informed him of the news, his heart clenched. The immortal lizard, killer of thousands of Mewman warriors, had grown a soft spot for the boy, even if his daughter was a little _too_ infatuated with him.

His wife was like him. She couldn't believe that Marco had been killed but, when she found out it was Omni who killed him, she got really upset and took to books to find a way to bring him back, almost to a point of obsession.

As for Luna, she took it the hardest. She stopped talking. As if her reason for living had vanished; as if the candle that illuminated the darkness in her life had been extinguished. The only time she came out of her room was to do the necessities and nothing else.

Toffee couldn't bare to continue seeing his daughter and wife in such a state, so he decided to do something drastic.

He decided to meet up with the Lycan's leader at her guild and discuss matters on how to deal with Marco's death. Also, the Queen of Mewni was there so things could either go really well or go to shit.

Either way, Toffee had to do _something._

Marco would have wanted him too.

* * *

 **A/N : Well everyone still thinks Marco is dead. This chapter was mostly a teaser 'trailer' for what is to come. Kind of like the teasers of the new season of SVTFOE, which made me crack up. I feel like Marco is going to get shafted in that season. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and I'll try to keep the updates sooner than 3 months lol. Peaceeee!**


	12. The Letter of Things to Come

**A/N** **: I have no words to express how sorry I am for not updating this story sooner, but I was having serious writer's block for it and the ton of assignments I had for my classes didn't help the situation. I could go on and on about how sorry I am for such a late update, but I think you all just want to get into reading this so here you go!**

 **Mentions at the bottom, btw.**

Disclaimer: _I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic. - Sky_

* * *

 ***** _ **Menwi: Lycan Guild**_ *****

It has been two weeks since Marco's death, but to some, it felt as if months had passed. The entire dimension of Mewni knew something was clearly wrong if the constant gloomy weather was any indication, and rumors of what happened at Butterfly Castle spread like wildfire making the situation worse. However, none knew the truth, besides a select few, of what had transpired thanks to a combined effort of Toffee and Helen in order to keep the peace.

Whatever was left of it, anyway.

After Marco's death, Helen decided to relay the information to Toffee. Why? Because Marco wrote in his 'Emergency Plan' (that was on her desk somehow) that if anything were to happen to him, to let the leader of the monsters know. She couldn't wrap her head around why Marco would want her _husband's killer_ to know such things but decided to put aside her own feelings to grant his last wish since she considered him family.

So Helen delivered the news in person… and now, here she was, staring at the same Lizard and his family which she had talked to weeks prior in the confines of her guild's war room. She was hesitant to allow Toffee and his family to walk into her home but was convinced to do so on the promise of information about Marco's whereabouts. At least, that's what he had told her in the letter.

However…

It was somewhat awkward considering the people that were in the room: Helen, Toffee, Eclipsa, Luna, Star, Higgs, and Jackie. They were all here to discuss the Marco situation but Star was glaring at the supposed murderer of her parents with an intensity that could melt a rock and her anger only escalated by how unfazed Toffee was by it, choosing to look stoic even though he was grieving on the inside. His family didn't look any better, especially his hybrid daughter.

The poor girl looked… _gone_.

Just like Helen's daughter.

"[Ahem] So where is Marco?" asked Helen, trying to break the tension inside the room and the sad thoughts of her own daughter's condition. Toffee slowly directed his gaze at her and sighed, which she took as a bad sign. "I don't know where he is exactly, or where he will be but I know when he will be back."

Star suddenly shot out of her seat and pulled her magic wand, ready to fire her most destructive spell at the Septarian but was quickly restrained by both Higgs and Jackie. Eclipsa released a sigh, deciding to step in before things escalated and ruined their trip over to the Lycan Gild, especially in such a crucial time. The dark arts user knew that Omnitraxus Prime and his forces would strike soon and both sides, mewmans, and monsters alike, needed to join forces to stop the threat. She also knew that Marco was extremely powerful. Only a fool would think he wasn't, but Omni had 'killed' him… and if Marco couldn't beat him, well…

"What my husband was trying to say is that we partially know _where_ and _when_ Marco will return to Mewni," said Eclipsa in her regal accent, causing everyone to stop what they were doing.

"Wait... are you suggesting that Marco is _alive_?" asked Helen in disbelief, hands balling up into fists in anger, "Marco was _**killed**_. My _own daughter_ saw a magic beam pierce his heart as the life left his eyes so do tell how he is **alive**." she demanded in a cold daring tone.

Star, Higgs, and Jackie immediately looked down in shame and sadness at the memory of Marco's last moments. In their eyes, he had sacrificed himself in order for them to escape and now he was… gone. The now dressed injuries they were recovering from didn't hold a candle as to how much pain they were currently feeling at the memory of their dark-skinned friend who they deeply cared for.

But none of the girls could possibly imagine what Kelly was feeling. She had seen Marco die right in front of her eyes, witnessing the last moments of the person she loved with all her heart and not being able to do _anything_ about it. When the girls had passed through the portal, it closed and Kelly just… broke. Her screams of anguish echoed throughout the guild as tears cascaded down her tanned face.

She was a mess.

Helen, her mother, was the first to arrive at the scene since she was the closest one to their drop-off point (the kitchen) and tried to console her daughter to no avail. Kelly eventually cried herself to sleep and hasn't left her room since. Once the other girls found out what Kelly had told her mother through her uncontrollable sobbing, they didn't believe it.

They _couldn't_.

Shortly after that, the girls (excluding Kelly) and Helen went to Butterfly Castle with a quick snip of Helen's dimensional scissors but were confused when they couldn't find Marco's body, only traces of blood that lead nowhere. The crestfallen party searched the entirety of the destroyed throne room, which was fairly easy thanks to Star's wand, to see if they could find any clues as to where his body was but found zilch. Helen eventually concluded that Marco's body was taken by Omnitraxus Prime for psychological warfare and not for other, _more gruesome_ , reasons.

At least that's what she hoped to be the case.

Eclipsa, seeing the state of the girls across from her, looked at her own daughter and gave a sad smile. Her poor baby girl didn't seem to notice or care about what was going on around her. She had become numb to her environment after the news of what happened to Marco reached her ears. Eclipsa and Toffee could still remember the look of utter despair, heartbreak, and, finally, the confusion that their daughter gave them, quickly followed by… _**nothing**_.

No facial expressions, no tears, no denial just… _**nothing**_. She hasn't spoken a single word since that day, the only action worth mentioning being her staring at the pendant around her neck from time to time.

Eclipsa quickly shared a meaningful look with her husband and gave him a nod, to which he returned, giving her the go-ahead with her "plan." Eclipsa cleared her throat to gain the attention of everyone in the room and took out a letter from under her Victorian hat, which everyone noticed. " _This_ [waves letter] appeared by the door of my daughter's room last night. I'm sure you're all wondering what this piece of paper has anything to do with Marco, well, I'll tell you. [Begins to open letter] There are only a select few who know where the monster stronghold is and even less who know where our castle is, let alone my daughter's room. Not even the guards know where it is, except for Toffee and I, but we did have a visitor in our home not too long ago, isn't that right Queen Star Butterfly?" Eclipsa said with a grin, noticing the look of realization that was spreading across Star's face, then to Jackie, then Higgs'.

" _M-Marco_ ," Star whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That's right! So _this_ _letter_ must have come from or is about Marco since the timing of such a thing can't be a mere coincidence! [Takes letter out of the envelope and opens it] This is the first time this letter has been opened since it came with a note that instructed us to open it once we were in the presence of Helen and her daughter named… " _Kels_?"

Helen's eyes went wide at Eclipsa's words and, without warning, pushed out of her seat, sprinting out of the room to get the one person absent from the war room that the letter had asked for. While sprinting towards her daughter's room, Helen couldn't help but smile, knowing full well that only two people called her daughter that, and only _one_ of them had met with Eclipsa's family so the sender of that letter had to be…

"Kelly! Open up!" demanded Helen as she pounded on the door of her daughter's room with her fists, but was met with silence. "Dammit, Kelly! Come on out, it's- oh screw this." Helen grabbed the door's handle and pulled the door off its hinges without effort and threw it into the hall as she walked up to her daughter's bed. She could make out an outline of a body under the covers and sighed. "Kelly… come on… you need to come to the war room with me. It's important."

No answer.

Every second of silence was increasing Helen's irritation as she waited for her daughter to do _something_ but she had guests over so she decided to hurry it along. She was an understanding and caring mother, but her daughter's comatose-like state had reached its expiration date in her mind so she scooped Kelly up in her blanket and ran out of the room.

This caused Kelly to react.

She thrashed within Helen's arms but did nothing to slow down her mother's brisk pace towards to war room. "M-om… please leave me alone…" Kelly's voice sounded so defeated, so crushed, so Helen did the only thing any self-respecting mother would do in this situation.

She ignored it and continued on.

Kelly suddenly felt being placed on a hard surface, followed by having the blanket yanked from her face. The sudden exposure to light temporarily blinded the green-haired girl since she hadn't seen light in _weeks_. It took her a few seconds to register that she was sitting on her blanket but on a chair, in the presence of people she knew and three that she didn't.

The three girls that were sitting near Kelly cringed at the sorry state that their friend was in. The green-bushy haired girl's puffy eyes were sunken and it was obvious she was sleep deprived. Her skin looked wan, a complete contrast from her usually dark skin tone, hair was in disarray, and the blush marks on her cheeks appeared faded. The slouched form she was in spelled out exactly how she was feeling about this whole ordeal… _defeated_.

Higgs, not being able to bare that look, scooted closer to her childhood friend and embraced her. As if a dam had been broken from the action, sobs began to rack throughout Kelly's body and returned her friend's embrace with a desperate intensity. Higgs' own tears followed shortly after, while Star and Jackie simply looked at the two with equal sadness in their eyes.

Helen let out her own tears at seeing her child drowning in pain and misery, but she had to move this meeting along. The news of Marco's possible whereabouts would certainly lift all of their spirits, after all.

"Sweetie…"

"Wh-What's going on, mom?" asked a confused Kelly as she peeked over Higgs' shoulders and saw hat the three strangers looked sad, except for the monster looking one but she knew that buried under that hard-blank facade was _something_ ready to burst free. Whatever _it_ was appeared to be hanging by a thin, slowly degrading, thread and Kelly would feel sorry for whoever it was going to be directed at.

"Sweetie," Helen repeated as she gestured across the table, "this is Eclipsa Butterfly (Star stiffened), Toffee of Septarsis, and their daughter Luna Butterfly."

Kelly eyed the three for a few more seconds until the name of the girl stopped her train of thought. It sounded familiar…

Kelly slowly wiggled out of Higgs' embrace, confusing the ginger, and made her way over to Luna. The coldness of the floor did nothing but cause her to wake up some more. This girl… it couldn't be… no…

Toffee didn't react to the girl walking up to his daughter at first but, when she sped up, he began to rise from his chair to stand in front of his daughter. However, he didn't get very far in his plan since Eclipsa sat him back down with one hand and her hard stare killed any kind of objection the lizard had. He knew better than to test his wife's anger _or_ patience, but he would spring into his daughter's defense if Helen's kid gave him _any_ indication that she was a threat, to hell with the consequences. Little did Toffee know, his wife was actually watching the scene before her very carefully, but for very different reasons.

Star, Higgs, Jackie, and Helen also watched Kelly with confusion since her behavior had done a complete turnaround from just moments ago at the mere mention of the mewman-monster girl's name. However, Higgs had a feeling it had to do with Marco…

As for how Luna was taking this, she simply turned towards Kelly and her face remained emotionless (like her father's) just like the rest of her pale-scaly body except… for her eyes. Luna's kaleidoscope eyes slowly turned into slits like a lizard and a growl began to form in her throat, growing in intensity as Kelly grew nearer with every step which she was oblivious to. Her tail also showed her quickly rising anger, if the tense-curling motion around the chair was any indication.

Everyone was surprised at Luna's sudden hostile reaction, except for Eclipsa, who couldn't help but grin at her daughter since she could guess the reason why she was acting the way she was. ' _She can probably_ _ **smell**_ _some of his scent on her._ [Chuckles] _That's my girl,_ ' the Queen of Darkness thought with a proud grin on her face, drawing a confused look from her husband until he too realized why his daughter had reacted that way.

He simply sighed.

Kelly stopped in front of Luna and gave her the once over, one word coming to mind: _beautiful_. She had to admit that the girl looked almost like a normal mewman girl if it weren't for the barely visible porcelain-like scales, tail, and the silver hair. Once Kelly's eyes landed on Luna's, she stopped and stared, until she caught a glimpse of some kind of mark on the girl's neck. It was in the shape of… a swirling spiral.

There was no doubt about it in Kelly's mind now.

This was the girl from Marco's nightmares.

The girl who was supposed to be _dead_.

"Luna, was it? [Luna growling] Do you happen to have any relation to… Marco Diaz?" Kelly asked in a serious tone but didn't receive an answer. Instead, Luna silently stared daggers into the bushy-haired girl's forehead. "Okay, let's just cut to the chase. [Slams fist onto the table] _Why. Are. You. In. Marco's. Nightmares?_ "

Luna stopped growling and gave the girl in front of her a confused look as she reached into her blouse. She pulled out the wooden pendant Marco had made all those years ago and placed it on the table for everyone to see.

" _I'm_ not the cause of Marco's nightmares if that's what you're trying to insinuate. [Scoffs] Do you even _know_ what we went through? All the _pain_ we had to endure due to the experiments… Want to know what they did to _me_?"

Kelly opens her mouth but is instantly interrupted by Luna's hollow gaze.

"I was _chained_ against a wall like some kind of rare rabid animal, always having needles stuck inside my body, extracting blood to help create this… ' _miracle_.' It's what the mewman scientists called it anyway..." Luna said with an empty smile.

Kelly's eyes fell towards the floor, unable to look at Luna's without feeling like a total bitch for multiple reasons, the main one being about causing the poor girl to relive such horrible memories. The second being about not knowing Marco's painful history.

Everyone else in the room simply watched with sadness-filled eyes, but none compared to that of Eclipsa's, whose eyes not only held deep sadness but rage at remembering the first time her daughter told her about the time she spent in that horrible place. Eclipsa and Toffee were so _close_ to just going on a massive massacring spree in the Butterfly Kingdom but were stopped by their daughter's ramblings about the weird little boy with a mole who saved her. They rushed to search the area where they found their daughter to look for the boy but the only thing they managed to find of the camp was the ashen remains that were left from a slowly dwindling fire.

No children were found, only the crispy-contorted remains of adults.

Luna wiped away the tears that were beginning to slide down her pale cheeks and released a shaky sigh. "Because I was essential in helping the experiments, I rarely went outside but the times that I did weren't pleasant. The other kids picked on me for looking different and would constantly beat me until they got tired, probably an experiment to see how much physical pain I could handle I assume… It was like that for a couple of months and things only got worse… but it all changed when a new kid happened to be out in the courtyard at the same time as I was."

A wistful smile graced her tear-stained face, "It was a snowy day like any other. I was let out and I tried, like every other time, to get as far away from the other children as possible but it never worked. They followed me, tore parts of my clothes, and just beat me as I laid on the frigid ground. They wouldn't stop… I remember shutting my eyes and silently praying for someone, _something_ , to come to save me but nothing happened… That's when Marco appeared."

Luna directed her gaze at Kelly and chuckled, the shift in her mood confusing everyone even her parents. She put a hand on the pendant and began to rub it, as if for good luck. "He confronted the ringleader and we managed to make brief eye contact. In that instant, for some reason, I _knew_ that I would be alright so I smiled at him," she said with a smile, but it quickly turned into a frown. "They tried to hurt Marco for sticking up for me, and when I tried to convey how sorry I was for getting him into such a mess, his eyes got darker. Next thing I know, the ringleader disappeared in front of everyone's eyes and reappeared with the sound of someone screaming, then a loud noise… then nothing."

"What happened to the kid?" asked Kelly skeptically.

Luna's wide grin and the way her eyes seemed to gleam unnerved her. "Marco teleported him into the sky and what goes up [points to the ceiling], must come down."

A collective gasp was heard in the war room once Luna's statement was fully digested by those around her. Kelly scoffed and shook her head, not believing the girl's words because the Marco she knew wasn't a killer. He had shown time and time again that killing was something he was not willing to go through with no matter how small the act. He also told her a different version of what had happened to this girl, a version where he thought she was disposed of. The bushy-haired girl chuckled, "You're _lying_. Marco would _never_ kill someone and he told me something different so you _must_ be _lying_ ," she said with steel-like resolve which began to crumble when Luna tilted her head, smiled, and shrugged.

Kelly looked around the room for support to her claim but no one seemed to back her up, not even Higgs. Star and Jackie had seen Marco's combat prowess so they didn't think he was a saint, to begin with. Higgs, like Kelly, knew that Marco despised the idea of killing but knew he was hiding something because he would get the thousand-yard stare when they would overhear the other guild members conversation about killing bandits and whatnot. As for Toffee and Eclipsa, they never really thought about Marco's 'dark' side but didn't really care about the topic since he had earned their respect long ago and didn't appear to be a bad person.

Noticing her daughter's conflicting emotions and thoughts, Helen decided to end the conversation by signaling Eclipsa to read the letter in her hands, which everyone seemed to forget about for some reason.

Once Kelly sat down, looking to be deep in thought, Eclipsa cleared her throat and opened the letter. Everyone unconsciously leaned forward on their seats in anticipation as to what the letter contained.

It said:

 _To whoever it may concern:_

 _We will be in Mewni a day after this letter is opened. How would we know? Because it's enchanted to send a signal to us once it's opened. Even if it were not to be opened, we would arrive around two weeks after Marco's disappearance as he has chosen. Also, we'll come to you so don't go looking for us and don't worry, Marco is well. However, he can't write the letter himself because his hands are literally busy with... training._

 _P.S.: To someone named Eclipsa or Toffee; Marco said to gather all your troops at the Lycan Guild. Also, to tell Luna that the pendant will be needed. Next, to someone named Helen, do the same thing as the previous two and Marco will try to explain everything when he arrives._

 _P.S.S.: Prepare for War._

A heavy silence followed once Eclipsa finished reading the letter, a silence that was broken by Luna's soft giggling. Everyone turned to see what she was giggling about and were confused to find that she was tearing up as a tender smile graced her lips.

"[Giggling] Ahhh, finally," she said blissfully, "Marco might actually want to play seriously now and I can't wait to help him."

Luna stood up from her seat and walked out of the room without uttering a single word, ignoring the odd looks she was getting by doing so. Toffee and Eclipsa exchanged worried looks and followed after their daughter, saying their quick goodbyes to Helen and the girls. They didn't get far since they were stopped by a frowning Queen of Mewni who had run after them.

"How are you _alive_?" asked Star in a bland tone, but her worried face betrayed her voice.

Eclipsa sighed, knowing this conversation was going to happen, so she told her husband and daughter to go on ahead.

"Star, if there's anything you should know about our people's history especially when it comes to the Queens, it's that the MHC is the puppeteers of our fate. [Chuckles sadly] They brainwashed every single Queen to share their monster hatred and when I confronted them about it, they warned me to look the other way. I obviously ignored them and my progressive plans about monsters were the last straw for them so they imprisoned me in a crystal for about _300 years_ , preferring to keep me as a trophy rather than to get rid of me. The only reason I managed to escape was due to your mother secretly seeking me for advice about one of my spells to use on Toffee. [Chuckles] The funny thing is that your mother tricked Rhombulus into letting me free in exchange for my help."

"Before I could actually give her the spell, though, Toffee attacked Butterfly Castle so they both left in a hurry to deal with that. I wasn't stupid enough to stay around and wait for them so I escaped using the same portal they used, thanks to Rhombulus' idiocy. I somehow managed to leave with an injured Toffee and the rest is history." Eclipsa finished with a smile.

Star was speechless.

The magical queen had trouble believing her, but why would she lie? After all, she had witnessed first hand Omnitraxus Prime trying to kill her and her friends for the magic wand... If everything Eclipsa had said was true then everything she knew about Mewni was a _lie_ , fabricated and manipulated by the MHC… which her own mother was a part of.

Eclipsa walked up to Star and gave her a loving hug. "By the look on your face, I can tell that you're going to need some time to process it all but I'm afraid that time is something we don't have, dear," she said sadly. "War is coming and it's up to you how you want to lead your people."

Eclipsa released Star from the embrace and began to walk in the direction her family went, but not before giving her an encouraging smile.

Star, now alone, had no clue what the right thing to do was in this situation, but did know one thing…" The Queen of Mewni pulled out her wand from under her tattered gown and inspected the magical object. After a minute of doing so, she materialized her royal crown with the help of the wand and a wistful smile began to grow.

"Oh, mother… how I miss both of you and dad," she said with deep longing and sorrow, slowly clenching the wand in her hands. "But now is not the time to wallow in sadness. Now, I must be the Queen that my people need and the Queen that will make all three of you proud."

Star turned on her heels with new determination flowing through her and headed back to the war room, ready to plan with the girls and Helen of Conquest for the upcoming war and Marco's arrival…

"Maybe things will turn out alright," she whispered to herself once she realized who the people she would be fighting next to were. Her optimism only grew at remembering the brown-haired man she had come to care for and was anxious to find out his thoughts on all of _this._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Wait... did the letter say _we_?

* * *

 **A/N** **: I'm doing the mentions here for this chapter because there's a few lol. Also, sorry for this chapter not being all actiony but as you all know now, there will be a war so yay! Fighting! Anyways, I'm just starting to get back into the process of things so please have patience with me. I'll get out the updates as soon as I can, which shouldn't be too bad considering I'm on summer break and will have a part-time job (hopefully) so more time to think and write. Thanks for everything! Peaceee!**

 **LucklessBlock86** **: Sorry for not being able to update this on your birthday. I tried, but school is a real bitch at giving free time so sorry for the long wait.**

 **Not another me** **: Thanks for the kind words! I try to not make my stories a confusing mess lol. As for who will end up with who, you'll see.**

 **thelegendofstarco : Thanks a bunch for the kind words! And I find writing Kelco to be rather fun, but then again I haven't written other ships but will in the near future, hopefully lol.**

 **The Howling Behemoth** **: Thanks! Enjoy the update!**

 **DJ Rodriguez** **: Oh man, what to say to you lol. For starters, thanks for continuing to support my stories with your awesome reviews and feedback. It truly means a lot to me (: I've literally been out of school for like a week, and have barely gotten back to writing since I needed a break from writing in general so I'm catching up with some stuff. I've also noticed you removed your** _ **Marco at a Crossroads**_ **story? Hope everything is well, and thanks again for everything.**

 **JJmmmmmlol : Nice name lol. I'm glad you like my story enough to miss it and hope that this update is to your liking, even if it is a little lackluster compared to others.**


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